Gundam Wing: Evolution Part 4
by KirinReiShido
Summary: We're BAAAAACCCKKK! Lessee, what's new in the GW Universe?? Well, in this edition, we're introduced to new Gundams!! YAY! There's action, adventure, comedy, family-moments, and of course, what fic is without 'the deed'? Read and find out!!
1. Family Matters

Medical Center -ONI (10:03 p.m.)

It wasn't as painful as she thought it was. She had stayed awake while the specialized doctors had sewed up the insanely large hole in her body. She didn't squirm or whimper when the hot needle pricked her insides, cauterizing the open blood vessels. She didn't scream or cry when the staples closed up her wound. She didn't even mind when they left her on the table like a slab of meat for three hours, just so they could go on their lunch break. 

But what she did mind was being displayed for all to see. She didn't like the fact that when she opened her eyes, faces were staring down at her half-clothed body as if she were a cadaver. She didn't like that they were commenting on her, probably wanting to poke and prod her like they had a right to. She hated that she was so vulnerable to a room of people she probably saw beforehand, but never took the time to know.

Questions flooded her mind. As she lay there, she had to wonder what happened to her friends. What happened to Ayako? Were they safe or were they put into a cell and left there to rot while she and her uncle were committing an act of incest? She shuddered at the thought. No wonder her uncle was so obsessed with her. He wanted to consort with her! It was bad enough she had to endure the rape with Mike and now Lee? She felt dirty. She needed a shower and she needed something to wash out the after effects of Lee's kiss. A thought crept into her mind. She needed Heero.

Now, hours after her operation, she lay in bed in a white room. It reminded her of the rooms in an insane asylum. Not that she had been in one before, but the white walls, white tables, white chairs, white television set, and white bed were just too much. She wanted color, she wanted to see the faces of her friends- her heart skipped a beat. Her memory was blurry, but she knew for a fact that they had witnessed first hand, the Angel of Chaos. She shut her eyes, trying to block out the imposed images of her friends turning away from her in disgust. She didn't want to see them turn their back on her. She didn't want to know that they were ashamed or too afraid to be her friend. She didn't want to know that Heero would walk away from her, too.

She rolled to her side, tears falling from the corner of her eyes. She had never felt so alone in her entire life. No- that wasn't completely true. The death of her parents...no, not that either. Why couldn't she remember? She sighed and was determined to remember a time when she felt alone, like she was the only one in the universe.

She recalled a mission that had asked for herself, Shin, and Yume. They were going to an abandoned mine on Earth, setting up a base there for ONI. This was maybe five years ago, a few months into Kirin's promotion to General. Yume was setting up the explosives, Shin was making sure the mining tunnels were empty, and Kirin was going to cover up anything the officials of that area would like to investigate. It was a simple mission, not too dangerous. Except the fact that a few OZ bases were still in operation. But that wasn't their biggest problem.   
There was an old town around that parts, one of which was a hospital and an orphanage. The hospital was empty, except for the few homeless that had lost their homes. The orphanage, on the other hand, was bustling with people, old, young, and invalid. They wouldn't leave. They refused to leave their home, some- the only home they had. Kirin had no choice.

Kirin had stopped by, everyday, to convince the people to leave. She had seen the children, faces glowing with happiness. She had seen them playing, saw them look at her and accept her, saw them being ushered away by parents who had labeled her the enemy. Hours before the explosion, Kirin had come by, one last time, to convince them to leave. She had tried any means necessary to get them out of the area. She had even talked to the children, the numerous amount of children who she had befriended, to try to talk their parents of leaving, going to another place where they would be happy. Kirin would have paid for homes for all of them. But as the hours turned into minutes, she couldn't do anything more. Kirin had no choice.

The explosives were set to go off at midnight. In the dead of night she had went back to the orphanage and sealed the doors and windows. Yume and Shin had accompanied her, wondering why this place was so important. Instead of questioning her, they had helped her, sealing up any crevice they could find with dynamite. Finally, nearing zero-hour, Kirin had placed the final dynamite into an open window but was startled to see pairs of wide eyes looking at her. Kirin had no choice.

She stepped away from the window, not allowing the tears to fall from her eyes. She ran back to the vehicle where Shin and Yume were waiting for her. She only looked back once, but that was enough to see that she had betrayed the children who had looked up to her in awe. As they drove away, the wails of the children echoed through the night. Screams began to rumble in the darkness. Kirin looked down at the detonator in her hand. The detonator for both the mine and the orphanage.

Kirin had no choice.

As she sat in the hotel room, much later in the night, she found herself in the bathroom, the water to scalding hot, hitting her body. Not even the temperature of the water effected her as much as the faces of the condemned. The mine and the building exploded. A blinding flash of light that rolled over the entire area in a radius of thirty miles. The aftershocks broke up the surface of the earth, making the mine uninhabitable for ONI's base. Yume had used too much force and Shin had made a slight miscalculation of residents in the area. All had made at least one mistake, but Kirin had paid the ultimate price. 

Alone. Seeing the children laugh and play. Seeing them with their friends, their brothers, their sisters. Seeing them happy and seeing them live. All that she didn't have. All that she couldn't experience had made her bitter and alone. With Yume and Shin she felt complete, but she didn't live her life. But even if she did...she was alone.

Kirin heard the door creak open. She surged upright, cursing that her mind was spinning. She shouldn't have gotten up so fast. She turned her head, slowly, to look at the blurred figure. Now that she had been resting, the pain in her side was beginning to make itself known. Her eyes began to clear steadily and she recognized the figure. "What do you want?"

"I came to see if you were all right, my dear."

"Like you ever gave a damn." Kirin hissed. She slowly lay back down, thanking the pillows that surrounded her. "Now you've got me. What are you going to do with me now?"

"I'm going to let you go." Lee said pleasantly. "Remember that little demonstration we had? Well, you gave us enough data on you to last us for years. And speaking from experience, I know you won't like it if I keep you here for too long. I'm afraid you might start an uprising with your prolonged visit."

Kirin glared at Lee. "It sounds too easy. What about everyone else? You're just going to let all of us walk out?"

"Yes. Is it a problem?" Lee asked, sitting onto the bed with Kirin. His hand dropped to cradle her knee. "I'm sure we can negotiate something..."

Kirin slapped his hand away from her knee. "Don't you ever touch me again, you hear me?"

"I see." Lee grinned. "You still have a 'thing' about men touching you, don't you?"

"No." Kirin snapped. "I have a 'thing' about men like you and Mike touching me. Both of you are disgusting, despicable, and crazy."

Lee's hands suddenly came around Kirin's throat. "Don't you ever call me crazy, Kirin. Do you hear me? I spent nearly three years in an insane asylum. I lost three years of research, three years to think of what I could've done to you. I am not crazy."

"Get your fucking hands off me." Kirin growled.

Lee released her and turned on his heel. He came to the door and opened it. He turned his head and stared at Kirin. "I want you and your people out of here by morning. If not, I'll throw you all out myself."

Kirin scowled at Lee. "I won't stay here even if you dropped dead right now."

"I'm sure." Lee scoffed. He turned and shut the door behind him.

Kirin sighed heavily and slid out of bed. She walked to the window and pulled the blinds back, revealing earth. She laid her head against the five-inch thick Plexiglas and sighed. "I wouldn't stay here even if my parents were alive."

Day 4-ONI (7:06 a.m.)

Duo Maxwell felt the glare of the sun from the window. Groaning, he tried reaching for something to throw at the window. He rolled over onto his side and found a leather boot in front of his face. His fingers explored it and tried to pick it up. "Stupid..."

"Mister Maxwell, it's seven in the morning. Your ship is departing at eight-thirty."

"Eh?" Duo opened his violet eyes and stared up at the officer who looked down at him with humorless brown eyes. "Eight-thirty? That early?" He groaned again and sat up. He looked around the pure white room. "Where-"

"They're at the docking port. I'm here to escort you there." said the officer.

"Don't I get breakfast?" he asked, yawning.

"There is a roll call in the docking port. After that, you will be treated to breakfast before your departure." replied the officer.

"Great." Duo surged to his feet and lifted his arms above his head, stretching. His black revealed his pale abdomen just as he let out a loud groan. "Direct me to the docking port!"

The officer nodded and beckoned to the door. "This way, Mister Maxwell."

Duo shrugged. He had no arguments about being called 'Mister Maxwell.' He just felt really...old. He followed after the well dressed officer, decked out in white, down the hall. There were mysterious doors that were set on either side of him as he walked down the long and winding hall. A billboard caught his attention and he stopped, looking at the three pictures.

On the billboard were pictures of Kirin Shido, Yume Okinawa, and Shin Kin'Youbi. Each were wearing the typical white uniform; Kirin had five stars while Shin and Yume had medals. They were respected, feared, adored. Duo could tell why Heero was attracted to Kirin. She had that aura of arrogance, much like Heero, and she was a leader at heart. Yume, on the other hand, was like a cross between Kirin and Shin, kind of stuck in between. 

Shin was much more of a vibrant person. She had her ups and downs, but most of all, she was always laughing. He found that to be the best feature on any woman. He had learned laughter was the best medicine for all types of handlings with people of Heero and Kirin's caliber and of someone like Wufei. He grinned at the thought. The only time he had heard Wufei laugh was when...actually...he never remembered when Wufei had last laughed. Now it was up to him to break Wufei's bad habit and at least get a small chuckle from him. 

"Mister Maxwell, this way, please." said the officer, sounding a bit strained.

"Sorry." Duo took another look at the pictures, more so, Shin's, and followed close behind the officer.

They came to a pair of large, automatic steel doors. They opened revealing the massive pirate ship that rivaled any other ship on land, air, or sea. The ship, Zenith, was a beauty in itself. It could at least carry several Gundams as well as a few well compacted Mobile Dolls, give or take a few. 

Off to the side were large crates labeled supplies. The space pirates who belonged to Zero, were busily packing the ship with those crates. Towards the head of the ship was Zero, sitting atop a crate, giving out orders to her men. Quatre stood beside her, holding a clipboard, probably a supply list.

Trowa was hovering over a stretcher with a body on top. Was it Kirin? Duo quickly took a few steps ahead of the officer to see better. He turned to the officer. "Where's Kirin?"

"She'll be joining you soon. The one in the stretcher is Ayako Meguri. She's going with you to Earth. Dr. Ikuza's orders."

Duo turned and saw Shin and Yume standing on either side of a pair of automatic doors, opposite the ship. He thanked the officer and floated up towards the two girls. "Morning."

"I thought you'd never wake up." Shin said, relieved. "How did you sleep?"

"I slept like a baby." Duo replied, winking at Shin. "Everything looks normal."

"That's what's bothering me." said Yume. "It looks normal, feels normal...but is it normal? There's got to be a catch."

Shin almost laughed. "Hard to believe you slept like a baby, Duo. You fell off your bed."

"I did?" Duo asked, incredulously. "I guess it was so comfortable that I didn't even notice..."

"What about the officer that picked you up?" asked Yume, sounding annoyed. "I'd think that you'd know if you were sleeping on a bed or on the floor, Maxwell."

Duo rubbed his head. "Like I said, it was probably too comfortable for me to notice."

Yume scratched the back of her head in an irritating manner. "I'm going to go see what's taking her so long." She breezed past Shin and Duo and disappeared behind the automatic doors.

"What's wrong with her?" Duo asked, noticing Shin rubbing her temple.

"We're both worried about Kirin. Lee said she went into surgery last night for the wound she received, but we haven't heard from her, yet. Not to mention Heero's out somewhere, probably worrying about her, too." Shin replied. 

Duo grinned. "I'm sure Kirin's fine. She's a tough girl, she can handle it."

"I know she can...but I'm just so..." her voice trailed off as she remembered the night before.

"Tired." Duo finished. His smile was half gone and his voice sounded serious. "Tired of everything that's been happening, right?"

Shin nodded. "Yes. Last night...when Kirin...it terrified me. I wanted to break out of my shackles and shake her. I wanted to understand why she was doing such a thing. Why was she doing it to herself? Couldn't she stop herself?"

"There's only one person who can tell you that, Shin." said Duo. He glanced at the others before returning his gaze to Shin. "Do you want to know what I think?"

"Please?" said Shin. "It would help."

Duo sighed and buried his hands into his pockets. "Well, what I think is...Kirin couldn't stop herself. There's was a part of her that did want to stop and another that didn't. Sometimes when that bad feeling is so great, you can't do anything but ride it out. She was probably so fed up with Lee and everything he did to her that she just let herself go. The consequences didn't matter to her anymore and she buried all rational thought into herself."

"But why?" Shin wailed. "She's stronger than that. She's stronger than him! Why would she do such a thing?"

"Shin..." Duo put a reassuring hand on Shin's shoulder. "Have you ever thought that Kirin was afraid, too? That she was scared of what she might do? Do you ever try to see through her eyes? What she goes through?"

"No..." Shin sighed. "Not really. I'm always trying to...I'm trying to make her feel that she isn't alone. She's got me and Yume. She's got us. If she let go, then she'd let go of all of us!"

"Don't let her be right." Duo said sadly. "Don't let her think that if she becomes that other person, if she really lets herself go...that she'd lose all of us. She needs us now more than ever. She's our friend. And we're not going to give up on her."

Shin gave a relieved smile. She turned to Duo, feeling tears well in her eyes. "Thank you, Duo. That was really sweet of you."

"I'm just saying what I'm thinking. I am after all, Duo Maxwell. I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie."

Shin managed a laugh at that moment. She clasped the hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Duo. I can't say how much you've made everything seem so clear to me."

"You know, if you ever need to talk..." Duo winked at her again. "I'm always here."

Shin felt a surge of happiness. She dropped Duo's hand and, instead, wrapped her arms around his neck. "You've done so much for me, Duo! Thank you!"

Duo blushed, grateful that Shin didn't see it. "You're welcome." His stomach protested loudly. "Uh...when's breakfast?"

Shin chuckled softly. "Oh, Duo..." she linked arms with him. "Breakfast is in the mess hall. I'll show you."

"What about roll call?" asked Duo. "If I know Heero, he'll be mad if we're not here in."

Shin bit her lower lip. "I suppose we can wait..."

"I can wait." Duo said, fighting the grumbling in his stomach. "As long as you're with me."

Shin blushed furiously, green/violet eyes sparkling with amusement. "Duo, stop it, you're making me blush!"

"You look so pretty when you blush..." Duo grinned, enjoying his sweet torment on Shin Kin'Youbi.

"Oh, shut up, Duo!" Shin cried, playfully bumping into him. 

Quatre smiled at the interaction between Shin and Duo. They looked adorable together. His attention went back to the clipboard in his arm. The sling wasn't bothering him too much, just a little uncomfortable. He looked up at Zero who was pointing to several smaller carts. "Are those ammunition crates?"

"Yeah." Zero replied. She stamped her foot as one of the pirates tripped over another's foot, sending thousands of bullets tumbling in all directions. "You idiot! Go and pick up ever single one of those bullets! With your teeth, you moron!"

Quatre winced at Zero's language. He remembered reading a book about manners. So far, Zero was the epitome of everything a lady SHOULDN'T do in public. "Um, Zero?"

"What?" she yelled. Her bright green eyes suddenly widened and she cleared her throat. "Yes, Quatre?"

Quatre had to smile at Zero's attempt in trying to act like a lady around him. "Is it really necessary to yell and to use such language to your men?"

Zero felt as if she were being set up for an execution. She couldn't understand why she was bending over backwards to be nice to Quatre Winner, heir to a fifty-billion dollar estate. The things she could buy with all that money. But, out of respect, not only for herself but for Quatre, too, she wanted to seem that she was well educated and not some illiterate pirate. She was going to prove to every single one of those snot-nosed, rich brats that she could be a lady. When she chose to. She sat down on the crates, her legs over the side. "Well, Quatre...it seems to me that the only way I can get my ship stocked and out of here faster is when I yell."

"Would it hurt to say it in a nicer tone and say 'please'?" Quatre suggested.

"Nicer...tone?" Zero repeated. She could just see it now, all her pirates would look at her as if she grew another head and begin laughing at her. Then she'd have to bring out her specialized pistol and shoot everyone that laughed Yes, she'd very much prefer that. And to say PLEASE? "Uh...um...well..."

Quatre looked sympathetically at the pirate who was picking up bullets with his teeth. "You can start with that one."

Zero turned to the pirate who was on hands on knees picking up several five inch long bullets with his mouth and dumping them into the exposed crate. As she clenched her fists and settled them on her sides, she turned her head slowly and swore she was only doing this to get closer to Quatre and his riches. "Fallon."

"Yes, captain?" said the pirate. He lifted his head and waited for the next words to come out of her mouth. 

"Could you..." she glanced at Quatre who nodded his head. "PLEASE...hurry up?"

Fallon looked worriedly at his captain. She was telling him to hurry up and she said please. "C-Captain...?"  
"Do it, now!" Zero snapped. She heard Quatre's tsk-tsk sound and saw the shaking of his head. "Do it, now, please."

"Uh...ok..." Fallon looked at his hands. "Can I use my hands, now, Captain?" 

"Yes, you c-"

"May." Quatre corrected her.

"Yes, you may." Zero said, plastering a smile on her face.

"Sure, captain..." Fallon then shrugged his shoulders and began to gather the inhumanely large bullets into his arms.

"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Quatre asked, beaming at Zero.

Zero felt as if she had just walked- more likely dragged, on hot coals. She eyed Quatre who was smiling at her. It was that smile that warmed her heart. She shook her head, mentally warning Quatre that if he made her say that in front of all of her other pirates, they would think she had gotten soft and eventually try to overpower her. "Quatre."

"Yes, Zero?" Quatre replied pleasantly. He looked up from his clipboard and brought all his attention to Zero.

Zero squirmed under Quatre's pleasant gaze. She wanted to tell him that she was not going to be Miss Manners all the time. But the pleased look on Quatre's face made her knees feel weak. She was glad she was sitting on top of the crate. "I just wanted to say..." Say anything to discourage him from giving her more lessons on manners! Yell at him! Tell him that she was just using him for his money! Say it! Say SOMETHING! "Thank you." NO. That didn't work at all. That's not what she meant to say at all. What was wrong with her?

Quatre nodded softly. "You're welcome, Zero." He turned to Trowa who was now asking him where they should place Ayako.

"Is she awake?" he asked the tall pilot.

"She's still in and out of consciousness. I overheard two nurses saying she was still under the influence of painkillers. She'll be like this for another day or so."

"Then we shouldn't disturb her." said Quatre. "We'll place her in one of the guest rooms and station one of the pirates with her. Just in case she awakens. Is that all right, Zero?"

Zero, who had heard every word, looked grudgingly at Ayako. "I don't know why we still have to take her with us. She was going to get us killed."

"But she didn't, so it's ok." said Quatre. He saw the look in Zero's eyes. "She can't do anything now, Zero. She's unconscious. Besides, she's like us."

"She's not like us because she tried to kill us! I admit that sometimes I don't like it when Kirin becomes psychotic or the fact that sometimes she infuriates me, but I still consider her one of my friends and I wouldn't kill her! I even joke about turning her in, but do I?" Zero growled. All manners were thrown out the window.

"I'm not asking you to become her best friend, Zero. I'm asking you to put it behind you and accept her for who she is. She's lost and probably alone with ONI. Maybe this is a chance to reform her. We can't change her old habits, but we can try to teach her some new ones." said Quatre. "I gave you a chance...now, can you do the same for her?"

Zero rubbed her ears. Had she heard right? "You..."

"I didn't look at you like you were a pirate. I looked at you like the young lady that you are." Quatre said lowly. "I began thinking about our first conversation. I learned a lot about you, though I don't think you noticed how much you opened up."

Had she opened up? She remembered the conversation they had the day before. No...she didn't say anything too incriminating. "Quatre-"

Quatre shook his head softly. "Let me say this...I think you're a very beautiful young lady, Zero. But I think that sometimes you like too much attention. You yell because you feel powered. You like vulgarity because you don't like seeing yourself as someone who is dependent on others. You don't want to be that young lady because you feel limited on what you can do. I admire your independence and strength. But I know who you really are. You're lost and confused."

As a defense, Zero become angry and clenched her fists. "What do you know, Quatre? You don't know what it was like for me! You were born with the world in your hands! I was born with nothing! I had to get what I have now! Do you think this ship was given to me? I created this ship from a small shuttle! This is my home! This is my life! Don't you dare say you know what I like and who I am. You don't know a damn thing about me."

"That may be true, Zero." Quatre said softly. "But I'm willing to listen."

Zero was about to bite off his head again. She heard his last statement and dropped her fists to her sides. She relaxed them enough that she clasped her hands with one another. "I don't want to talk about it. Not now."

"All right." Quatre leaned close and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "If you ever feel the need to talk. You can always talk to me."

"Yeah." Zero turned away from him and his hand. She wasn't going to drop her guard for some cute, rich, blonde-haired, blue-eyed young man who thought she was beautiful and blushed as he said it. No. She was going to keep her bad-ass attitude and walk away with her dignity intact. Then she'd go into her room and probably drown her sorrows in her treasure. After that, she'd probably start abusing her furniture to vent out her frustrations and the fact that Quatre Winner was getting under her skin. But, she did have to admit...he was cute and she was...a little fond of him. Just a little. Maybe a little was too much...

Quatre saw the slight confusion on Zero's face and decided to leave her alone for the time being. He hadn't really meant to say so much to Zero, but he was never one to hide his feelings...unlike a few of his friends that he knew. He set the clipboard next to Zero quietly and turned to the stone-faced young man at the front of the room. 

His blue eyes were dark, as if he had been told the most devastating news in the world. His eyes washed over the scene. Shin and Duo were sitting on a pile of empty crates, talking in low voices; he had just seen Trowa cart someone on a stretcher into the ship; Zero and Quatre were standing close together, Quatre was slowly approaching him; he had just passed Wufei who was just retrieved by one of the ONI officer's, and he saw Yume storm past him, mumbling something about Kirin not showing up. He stepped further into the port and saw the ONI officer's cower into a corner. He wasn't in the mood for courtesies.

"Good morning, Heero." Quatre greeted him warmly. "Have you heard anything yet?"

Heero's eyes slowly turned on Quatre. He had spent the entire night and this morning trying to figure out what happened to Kirin. Yes, Lee had told them all, over the p.a., that Kirin had just had surgery. Yes, he said she was alive and conscious but she needed her rest. Yes, he also said that they would all be going home. And, yes, he wasn't going to stop them. He knew for a fact that Quatre wouldn't ask about Kirin if she wasn't already on board. He figured it was Ayako. She was the only other person who was seriously injured. That and he also heard the rumors that Ayako would be going with them back to earth.

Quatre took Heero's silence as a 'no.' He sighed. "Do you think Lee would actually hurt her?"

"No." Heero said finally. He voice sounded so raw. He cleared his throat and crossed his arms. "He wouldn't hurt her. I'd kill him first before he could."

Quatre nodded. "She's a strong young lady, Heero. She can't be taken down so easily."

"She won't be taken down." Heero replied. "I won't allow it."

Quatre knew that determined expression on Heero's face. He meant what he said with every cell in his body. It was amusing to watch his friends, Duo and Heero, both find young women that would suit them so well. Duo and Shin with their common love of laughing and Heero and Kirin with their... 'suicidal' tendencies. In a way it was good for them to find a significant other, at least their minds would be on something else. He wondered if he would find someone he could call his own. His eyes suddenly darted to Zero who was sitting quite seductively on the crate, still yelling out orders. He smiled, if there was one person capable of reforming her, it would be him.

The automatic doors opened, revealing Yume who was followed by an entourage of men in black suits. She looked half annoyed and half angry, but judging by the small casket behind her, it was Korin's body.

Yume turned to Heero and walked towards him. She beckoned to the casket. "Lee just announced that we're taking Korin's body. We can do whatever we want with it. However, when I saw him, he told me Kirin was already up and about. He had the gall to admit he didn't know where she was. The bastard..."

Whatever self-control Heero had, it was quickly diminishing. His hands dropped to his sides. "You're coming with me, Yume-"

"Don't jump to conclusions." said a voice.

Heero turned and saw the light to his darkness. She stood on the opposite side of the large docking room holding armfuls of papers. He saw a glimpse of blue and white. Blue and white usually meant 'blueprints.' He came forward wanting to know why his Kirin was already up and walking around as if she wasn't impaled by a spike the night before. "Kirin-"

Kirin's gold eyes never met his. "I know. Why am I walking around? You, out of everyone, should know that you just can't lie down when the world is passing you by." she handed the papers to Heero, giving him a fake smile that unnerved him. "Those are top secret blueprints, Heero. I trust you can put them in a safe place?"

"Hn." If Kirin was going to close up her emotions to him, he might as well do the same thing. He watched as Kirin floated past him to the clear-glass casket, still attended by the black suits.

Kirin's own gold eyes reflected back to her on the glass. Her hand, trembling with anger touched the smooth surface, as if trying to smooth the same silver hair of the young boy inside. His large, innocent eyes were closed, his hands clasped over the midsection of his abdomen. There was a gold cross that lay in the center of his chest. He wore white. She found it heartbreaking.

She leaned her head close, almost kissing the glass. The glass fogged up where her mouth was slightly parted. Hands clenched into fists and she looked angrily to the black suits. "And what has Lee said I do with him?"

The one closest to her spoke up. "He said to do whatever you want. He trusts that you will not come back here for he will surely humiliate you."

Kirin slowly stood up, her bangs flooding her face and obstructing her eyes. "Humiliate me? The only thing he's manage to do is piss me off." She lifted her head slightly, two golden orbs glowing with a dangerous fire. "And do you know what happens when I'm pissed off?"

The black suits slowly backed away, glancing nervously at each other before leaving out through the automatic doors. Kirin laughed darkly then turned back to Heero and the others who were watching her closely.

She tossed her hair back and turned to Zero. "Is everything packed?"  
"Yes." said Zero. "Where are we going to put him?"

"I'll figure something out." Kirin called. She turned to Heero. "Do you mind putting them away now? We'll need those. They're from my office."

Heero looked up at the dozens of disarrayed papers. He glanced at Kirin before coldly turning away and walking towards the ship. She sighed fretfully. She had no reason to act so distant from her friends. Especially Heero. But she didn't want to get too close to them too soon. She needed time to think, time to gather and re-collect her feelings. She just lost a son for crying out loud! But what did that have to do with everyone else? Absolutely nothing.

Kirin then turned to the officers in the white suits. "Lee is letting us have breakfast here?"

"Yes, General Shido- uh..." one of the officers began to blush.

"So." Kirin sneered. She stepped to the officer who spoke up. "You're sympathetic with me and the Triad, huh?"

"Uh..." the officer looked at his fellow comrades. "Yes, General Shido..."

Kirin smiled. "Then you know that this isn't the end. For them or for us..."

"Yes, General Shido!" said the officers in white. "We have reports of an operation that will be executed by Lee's Elite."

Kirin found is suspicious that the men in white would tell her of the things Lee was doing. She knew now not to trust everyone she met. She would listen and feign acceptance. She'd lock it into the back of her mind and use it as a reference in case those white suits had told her the truth. If not, then she knew it was just a ploy to get her and her friends killed.

"And what is that?" Kirin asked mildly. "Surely you've researched it well enough to know whether or not it is just a decoy."

"Yes, General Shido." said the first. "It's called Operation: Chaos. There will be at least four shuttles for each colony, filled with at least three hundred and fifty of Lee's enhanced soldiers. That would make fourteen hundred soldiers total on each colony. They will evidently rule the colony since they are to resemble your expertise. During this time, the Elite will lead both a mobile doll and a mobile suit rally against Earth's defenses."

"And the purpose of this action is?" Kirin questioned, knowing Quatre and Yume were close by.

"As its name implies, General. Chaos."

"All this for chaos." said Kirin. She shook her head. "No. There's something more to this. Tell me what it is."

The officers all glanced nervously at one another. Surely that information was sufficient. Lee had told them to act as if they were on her side and tell her everything they knew about Chaos. They were to tell her who was involved, how many, and the purpose was. They knew the purpose was vague, but Kirin could fill in the details herself. "G-General Shido?"

Kirin gave a frustrated sigh. "Lee isn't flagrant without reason. No matter what he does, he has a reason to do things. It could be as easily as obtaining attention or as hard as creating soldiers that look like me. Nonetheless, he has a reason for starting this Operation."

The white suits swallowed hard. They were in trouble. They had to make up an excuse fast or else Kirin would kill them. They knew she was going to kill them because she was playing with something on her hip which resembled a pistol. Not to mention Yume was standing beside her, fingering a fairly large pocket. "The purpose of Chaos leads to the fall of Earth. If they are able to control the colonies, Lee will create a cannon that would be powerful enough to destroy Earth with a single blow."

"And how will they do that?" Kirin asked, feigning interest. Truth or untruth. That was the question.

"They will align the five colonies in five intersecting points that will lead to the core and eventually have the planet burst like a balloon." said one of the white suits.

Kirin raised an eyebrow. "Really. Don't tell me- the colonies will form a star sequence around Earth. Each cannon will point to the center of Earth and with the force of the cannon, it will not only penetrate Earth's surface, but it will also destroy everything in its path. Right?"

"Yes, General Shido!"

"Ok. Good." Kirin suddenly brought out her pistol. "Thank you for the information."

"Kirin, what are you doing?" Quatre cried.

"If I don't kill them, Lee will." Kirin replied calmly. She cocked the gun and aimed.

Yume's arms went around Kirin's waist. "I admit I want to knock their heads off, but I don't really want to kill them! Kirin, stop! No more! I don't want to see anymore blood."

Kirin slowly put her arm down. Yume was right. No more bloodshed. She hesitantly put back her pistol. "Return to Lee. Tell him that whatever he's planning, I'm going to stop him. And if he doesn't believe me...tell him the only chaos he's managed to create...is me."

The white suits made a quick getaway from Kirin's line of sight. She shook off Yume's hand and walked towards the automatic doors. She stopped long enough to say one thing. "After breakfast, we're leaving."

Mess Hall (7:54 a.m.)

All activity ceased. Hundreds of pairs of eyes looked towards the group that stood at the threshold of the mess hall. The beating of hearts could be heard, breathing, steady and slow, whistled through the air. Forks were upraised, frozen in place by arms that were trained in breaking necks. Mouths were turned to frowns and eyes were filled with hatred.

Kirin stood amongst the group, crossing her arms. Those people, those who looked up to her were now looking at her with hate. She wasn't going to take any of the glares lightly. If any one of those people breathed, looked, or even said anything the wrong way, she'd go off and literally string their necks and hang it up on Zenith's mast. 

Apparently everyone knew what she was thinking so they continued their conversations, in lowered voices, and resumed their meals. An officer in white escorted the group to a cornered off section of the mess hall. Surrounding tables silently stood and left the area to go to another section. No one wanted to be around traitors.

Kirin slunk into a chair and crossed her arms, avoiding eye contact with her friends. They sat around her, each giving questioning glances at Kirin before turning their gazes at one another. 

"So," said Duo, breaking the tense silence. "What's for breakfast?"

Shin followed in Duo's lead. "Well, we have a choice whether you want pancakes, waffles, eggs, or cereal. Everything is culturally diverse so whatever you want or how you want it is pretty much up to you."

"Sounds great." Duo beamed. "I think I'll have all four."

"All four?" Shin asked. She tipped her head back slightly, a gesture of remembering. "Pancakes, waffles, eggs, and cereal?"

"Sure, why not?" Duo rubbed his stomach. "I'm in the mood for a hearty breakfast."

"Uh, o-ok..." Shin searched the area and found several waiters coming towards them. "I think you'll need a separate waiter just to get all of your orders, Duo."

"That's just fine by me." Duo grinned.

Yume was quite annoyed. Not only by Shin and Duo, but Kirin and Heero as well. Considering that Shin and Duo aren't made from the Perfect Soldier Mold, Heero and Kirin knew how to hide their emotions pretty well. Kirin had her head down on the table while Heero has his arms crossed, staring off into space...she was going to knock their heads together. Soon.

Waiters surrounded the table, giving out special's of the morning, chef's special's, and the regular menu. True to his word, Duo had gotten his four separate orders of pancakes, waffles, eggs, and cereal; Shin had decided on just having pancakes; Quatre wanted some eggs and bacon; Zero chose the waffles; Wufei wanted coffee first before he decided on what to eat; Trowa settled for pancakes, too; Heero said nothing; and Kirin wanted cereal.

Another tense silence ensued. No one said a word even as the mess hall became louder and louder. Quatre's face was hurting because he had been smiling too much. Unfortunately, his happy-go-lucky mood wasn't working this time around. Someone would have to say something in order to get a reaction. A good reaction, he hoped.

Their orders came around even as Quatre was still contemplating what to say. Maybe they didn't want to discuss anything or maybe they didn't want to talk when so many people around. But he was so used to talking during breakfast that he was almost becoming frantic to break the silence.

"Hey, you all right, Quatre?" asked Zero. She was in mid-pour of syrup over her waffles. "You look kind of anxious."

"I-I'm fine." said Quatre. His smile seemed fake and plastered on. "Thank you for asking, Zero."

"Uh, sure." Zero shrugged. She eyed the other members of the table. They seemed to be so self-absorbed into their own little world. She was just curious. Besides, Quatre looked like he was about to pass out. 

All conversations ceased again as several suits in gray entered the mess hall. They were from the records department, all things that pertained to the history of every single member of ONI. They came to the group and stood above Kirin who slowly lifted her head from her cereal and gazed at them knowingly. "Here are the files you requested, General Shido."

Kirin sat up straighter and held out her hand. "Did you do as I asked?"

"Yes, General Shido." said the head gray suit. "We've double checked all connections and cross referenced it to several different resources. Everything has checked out ok."

"Good." Kirin skimmed through the folder that was handed to her. She seemed satisfied with it. "Very good. You've done your job well. You're dismissed."

"Thank you, General Shido!" They saluted, turned swiftly on their heel, and left the mess hall.

"Hey, Kirin, what's that?" asked Shin.

"Some favors I called in." replied Kirin. She sat back in her chair and began skimming through the information again. The table went into a small conversation then quieted as each resumed their meal. Her eyes read over the documentation of birth. It was for Baby-girl Katsuragi. She flipped a few pages and came across an older version of documentation. It was three years prior and for Baby-boy Katsuragi. She quickly glanced at Heero and Yume. Yume was eighteen, like herself, though two months older than she. Heero, she knew from facts, was three years older. Heero and Yume's likeness wasn't coincidental. It was blatantly clear that they were brother and sister.

Kirin stood. All eyes went to her. She pulled out Yume's birth certificate, sealed with an official emblem of the department of records, both on Earth and in Space, and handed it to her. She took out Heero's birth certificate and handed it to him. "I can do a blood test if you want to be sure."

"Sure?" Yume stared at her certificate. "Yume...Katsuragi? Hinako Katsuragi. That's my mother's name?"

Heero's eyes swiftly washed over the document in his grasp. His eyes slowly moved as he read the name of his mother. He looked up and met with Yume's eyes, the same eyes that he had looked at once before and thought it was so much like his own. He turned to Kirin. "What is this?"

"Exactly what it says. A birth certificate. Evidence that you were born and registered." replied Kirin. She didn't want to sound sarcastic, but that's what it was. There was no forging birth certificates. DNA, fingerprints, and retina scanners were stored in all birth files. Everything in any of the records department had back-ups. It went as far back as After Colony 100. "Like I said, if you want me to do a DNA test, I'll do it."

"What made you do this, Kirin?" Yume asked quietly. "What right do you have, going into my- OUR business? You just couldn't bring yourself to think about the consequences, did you? Did you think that pulling out the carpet from under us would result in us thanking you for meddling into our lives?"

Kirin took an involuntary step back. "I thought that-"

"No, you didn't think!" Yume cried. "You always think that everything will be ok! Well it's not ok, OK?"

"I don't see why you're so upset!" Kirin growled. "I thought I was doing you a favor, helping you find your family and for this matter, your BROTHER! I was thinking! I was thinking about you and I was thinking about Heero! If there was anything that I wanted to do, it was to help you. I wanted both of you to be happy!" Kirin lowered her head. "My family is dead. My mother, father, uncle...son. You and Heero have each other, now. You're family...whether you like it or not you need each other. You need each other to survive. I'm sorry if I thought it was selfish of me to try and bring you two together." She stood turned away from them. She walked quietly away from the table.

Yume's hand clutched the paper tightly. She had no right to be upset with her. She was right after all. Was it just an automatic defensive response? Kirin had done the impossible, once again, and found her brother. Her own flesh and blood. She admitted, only to herself, that Heero looked strangely similar to her- and vice versa. She had always wondered about her own past and thought it would be exciting for her to find out that someone of Heero's caliber would be related her. And now when it was actually true, she had refused it all and practically bit off the head of one of her closest friends. One of her friends that had cared enough to risk life and limb for her just so she could probably meet her highly-suicidal brother, Heero Yuy.

Yume turned to Heero. "So, now what do I call you?"

"Call me?" Heero asked. He was still trying to adjust. He looked at his birth certificate. It said Odin Lowe, Jr. He remembered that name. It was hard to believe that the same man who had taught him how to use a bazooka was also the man who sired him.

"Yeah. Do I call you Heero or the name printed on that sheet of paper?" asked Yume. "Let me see it."

Heero looked up at Yume as he handed her the paper. "I'd prefer Heero."

"So would I. No offense or anything, but Odin doesn't suit you..." Yume was tempted to say it. "Bro..."

Heero narrowed his eyes at her. For one thing, how was he to act around her now? She was his sister. But to make sure... "We'll ask Kirin to do a blood test. Maybe it's just a big coincidence and-"

"Kirin doesn't make mistakes, bro. You, better than anyone, should know that." replied Yume. She was beaming. It was fun calling Heero her brother. However, she had to find out just how far she could push it.

"Before you get comfortable, I want that blood test." Heero growled. He searched the area. Kirin was nowhere to be seen. "And...I want you to apologize to Kirin."

"I know, I know. It was wrong of me to snap at her. I was just being..." Yume was at a loss for words.

"Defensive." Heero finished. He had to urge to shake Kirin as she brought his perfectly stable world crashing down on him. But he also had to be grateful. She cared enough to go through such measures to make him feel like he belonged in the world. Even if it was with Yume.

Duo had just finished off his cereal and was sitting back in his chair, patting his bulging stomach. "Ah, I feel good!"

"Let's go then." said Zero. She stood and finished the complimentary orange juice. "I don't want to stay here anymore. Too many bad memories."

"Sometimes the bad memories are the good ones..." Quatre said softly.

"And last night? With Kirin going crazy?" Zero asked.

"Well...that's one memory that should be forgotten." Quatre said sheepishly.

"I thought so." replied Zero.

The group arose from their seats and followed the same white suit who had stood around, waiting as they finished their meal. The suit guided them back to the docking port and waited as they piled inside.

"Wait a second." said Yume. "Did you see-"

"General Shido's on the ship already." said the white suit.

"Oh. Ok." Yume ducked in front of Heero in hopes of catching up to Kirin first. She didn't want her dear brother to apologize for something she said. She'd rather do it in person.

Kirin was on the bridge, underneath the console. Zero had found her first and was now hovering above her. "What are you doing, now?"

"What's it look like? I'm removing the wires for the cameras like I said I would. The mission is over, isn't it?"

"Well...yeah." Zero sat down in her seat and watched Kirin. "You know you scared the shit out of everyone last night."

"I'm aware of that." Kirin replied. She pulled out the wires and set the on top of her stomach. "And what about you?"

"I already told you. You scared the shi-"

"No." Kirin moved from under the console. "What about you? You already said everyone was scared. In general. I want to know what you think."

"What I think." Zero repeated. She leaned back in her seat, hearing Kirin move under the console again. She eyed Kirin who was still busy pulling out wires. "You made me want to puke my guts out. I felt as if...I was responsible for having you act like that. Like you were venting out your frustrations on them instead of me."

"Is that all?" Kirin asked.

"No." Zero snapped. She wasn't really good at telling people of her feelings or emotions. She was just used to yelling. "I wouldn't want to meet you in a dark alley!"

"Oh, really?" there was some humor in her voice.

"Don't patronize me!" Zero cried. "I'm trying to talk like a decent young lady and there you are laughing your ass off! Jeez..."

"I'm sorry." Kirin apologized. "But that last statement was just kind of...out of the blue. A spontaneous remark."

"Well," Zero scoffed. "That's how I feel."

"Good. Progress." Kirin said, pulling out for good from under the console. She stood and met with Zero's hard and questioning gaze. "Don't think I keep a blind eye or a deaf ear to any of my friends. You're trying hard to impress someone, aren't you?"

"What does that have to do with anything? I'm wondering why you said 'progress'!"

"Oh, that. Well...seeing as you're trying to impress someone and how you hardly express your feelings...I think that's progress."

Zero crossed her arms over her chest. "You know what?"

Kirin leaned on the console. She matched Zero's hardened face and crossed her arms. "What?"

"You're annoying."

Kirin let out a laugh then moved away from the console. "Thank you. I'm sure I'll think of something nice to say about you. Eventually."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Zero demanded.

Kirin walked towards the automatic doors. She stopped as she turned to face the Space Pirate. "Eh...you'll see."

"Kirin!" Zero called.

Kirin let the automatic doors close behind her. She looked down the winding corridor and decided that it was enough conversing with people for awhile. She'd find the first empty room and sit there until Zero's ship re-entered Earth's atmosphere. After that, she'd take over and find a nice abandoned parts factory and begin the reconstruction of one of the most feared weapons of all time...

The Gundams.

Lee's Office (8:14 a.m.)

"Are you sure it's wise?" 

Lee Ikuza propped his elbows onto the desk and leered over his clasped fingers. "Are you questioning my authority?"

The advisor shook his head firmly. "No, sir. But...just letting Kirin and her company leave after setting up such an elaborate incident..."

"I know, I know." said Lee, nodding his head softly. "But do you actually think Kirin would put her friends in danger again?"

"Seeing as how she was so reluctant the first time..." the advisor drifted off.

"Yes." Lee grinned. "She's bold, crude, and reckless. Not stupid. She won't come back here. She knows the consequences of trying to come back here. She'll know what I'll do."

"And what of those men of whom you told your plans to?" asked the advisor. "I believe that they would follow their orders-"

"Yes. They'll do as I say. Now it all depends on Kirin. Whether or not she acts on that bit of information is the key. If she reacts, then she'll anticipate every move I make. If not, she and Earth, will never know what hit them. I've planned Operation: Chaos for years. I've waited for a time when Earth and the colonies were at its weakest and now that time has come." Lee leaned back in his chair and tossed his head back in laughter. "They were stupid enough to rid of the most magnificent machine of all time! And now look what happened...they're worthless."

"Sir, when do you plan on the construction of the Chaos Cannon?" the advisor held up a clipboard. "We have enough man power for construction, the parts are in, and the plans have all been laid out."

"Good." Lee pushed his chair back until he was staring upside-down at the wall of different screens. "Why aren't they gone, yet?"

"They're ready to lift off in ten minutes. Um, sir? Construction start date?"

"As soon as they leave." Lee sat up in his chair, looking darkly at the advisor across from him. "As soon as they're gone, start sending out the workers to the colonies. I want construction done within the month. On the verge of the second month, I want the cannon working, energized and ready to fire at my command."

"Sir? That would mean the workers would have to work nonstop for a whole month!" exclaimed the advisor.

"So? They are expendable. We'll just gather more workers from the neighboring colonies." Lee sifted through his papers. "World domination takes time. I've had three years to think. As much as I hate waiting, I can wait another month."

"And Kirin, sir?"

Lee raised a questioning eyebrow. "I'm starting to think you're just as obsessed with Kirin as I am. Let Kirin do what she wants. If she comes to confront me again and I'll go after her boyfriend. If she stays away, then she'll watch Earth take in a new ruler."

"Good plan, sir." said the advisory. He began writing furiously on his clipboard. He stood to leave. "We'll begin right away."

"Yes." Lee gave a heavy sigh. He laid his head on his desk and played with a picture frame that held Kirin's one and only baby picture. "Also, before you go..."

"Yes, sir?" asked the advisor. He froze just before the door.

Lee suddenly laughed. He eyed his advisor. "I want you to contact my Elite. Check any hospitals in the Sank area. I didn't bother to track them. But once you've located them, I want them brought back up here. We're going to prepare for WAR."


	2. Let's Make Love

Zenith [Earth bound] (8:35 a.m.)

"And no one's seen her?" Yume shrieked. She jumped down the second floor bridge and landed softly on her feet. "We didn't leave her behind did we?"

Zero shook her head. "Of course we didn't. I was talking to her earlier before we lifted off." She crossed her arms. "Besides, she couldn't have gotten far."

"What do you mean?" Yume growled. "There are so many places where she could hide and possibly fall out and still be stranded on that damn colony! Heero's going to have puppies if he can't find Kirin!"

Shin and Duo appeared at the doorway. Shin was looking very unhappy as well. "Nothing. Where the hell could she have gone? This place isn't big enough to dig a hole and bury herself! We're in space for crying out loud!"

Quatre entered through the second-floor bridge. "I've checked all the cargo rooms. Nothing."

Trowa crossed into the room, crossing his arms across his chest. "The guest rooms have been checked. She's not in there either."

"Woman! Where are you?" Wufei growled as he came behind Shin and Duo. "I did not want to spend my time looking for you! I have better things to do!"

"Great." Zero sighed. "My crew aren't really the type to look for missing persons. But I'm curious. What would Heero say about this?"

"I've found her."

Zero snapped her head up to the bridge and saw Heero holding Kirin, sleeping, in his arms. "That was fast. Where was she?"

"In the engine room." Heero replied. He shifted Kirin's weight in his arms. "She was in the space between the generator and the jet propulsion system. Any closer to it and she would've died."

Yume, not caring whether Kirin was asleep or in her brother's arms, smacked Kirin atop her head. With a jerk Kirin was thrashing in Heero's arms before a stern command told her to stop. Kirin looked at Heero for a full minute before turning her head and glaring at Yume. "What was that for?!"

"You could've died in that generator!" Yume cried. "If you did, then I'd never apologize for yelling at you and Heero would never forgive me for yelling at you and then Shin would be mad because I yelled at you and I didn't apologize before you died!"

"Ok." Kirin eyed Heero then settled her feet onto the floor. "For one thing...I'm not dead, am I?"

"Well, no..." Yume crossed her arms.

"And second..." Kirin managed a grin. "You're forgiven."

"I..." Yume narrowed her eyes at Kirin for a long moment before grinning. She turned to her brother and smiled. "Happy? I've apologized to her!"

Heero, to what it sounded like to everyone else, gave a groan. If every thing was going to be solved in such an unorganized manner, he would've sat Yume down with Kirin and have them talk about it. Then again, he was never one to apologize unless he really meant it.

"Well, now that everything's settled..." said Shin. She turned to Kirin. "What are we going to do once we get to Earth?"

Kirin, who was playing with a torn piece of her jacket, looked up innocently. "Oh, well, first I'm going to kill Relena." She turned to Heero who looked like he was going to protest. "Unless you want to do it? After all, we wouldn't be here if it weren't for her! She paid someone to find me and she gave my location to Lee who not almost killed all of you, but almost killed me! Do you actually think I'm going to let her get away with that, Heero?"

"Hn." Heero crossed his arms. Her logic was reasonable enough. "Do what you want. I'll support your decision."

"Ooh, that sounds like a commitment!" Yume teased. 

"Yume..." Kirin sighed. "Heero and I aren't getting married! At least...uh..." She was glad no one could tell she was blushing.

Heero, however, was now the focus of attention. He glared at everyone until they averted their eyes. How dare Yume bring up something so personal? He was going to have a brother-sister talk with her soon. And one point he'd make sure she'd learn was to never discuss his personal life!

"And second..." Kirin continued. "We'll find the first abandoned factory and begin construction."

"Construction, Kirin?" Quatre asked. "I have several large factories on Earth. I'm sure I can afford one or two of them. What do you need them for?"

Kirin took a deep breath before answering. "We have three Gundams among us. I'm going to have to remodel them and get new parts to repair them. And did I mention that the papers I told Heero to hide were the blueprints of several Gundams models?"

Heero's arms dropped to his sides. Gundams. New Gundams? It seemed too good to be true. But Gundanium was scarce...

Kirin smiled. "The primary metallic alloy I'll be using is Gundanium. I've saved enough in a secret stash to cover the repairs but added with the Titanium alloy that I've managed to scrounge up, the Gundams' defense would be twice as powerful. But I'll need your help. We have at least a month or two for everything to be in order."

"What's the rush?" asked Trowa. "Creating a Gundam takes at least six months to a year."

"Yes, well...I doubt Lee is going to sit back and wait for a war to come. He's more than likely planning something now, planning a little more for later, and planning just to spite me. To tell the truth, this will be the first time I've started production on these new models but you can ask Yume and Shin...give me a month and I'll give you an army." Kirin said sweetly.

Yume and Shin nodded. "Took about three weeks straight to finish our Gundams. Another two to input the system, weapons, and any tune-ups. Within the month, she was done."

"A Gundam for all of us?" asked Duo.

"Well, there's only five I've managed to finish." Kirin replied. "If I stayed on the colony longer, I could've had six or more. But I think five is good."

"I see how it is." said Zero. "You think 'cause I'm a pirate that I can't pilot a Gundam?"

"Zero, a Gundam is completely different from a ship. Personally, I don't think you can handle the ZERO system. You'd have to train with me for a few months in order for you to bypass the psychological aspects of it." Kirin explained.

"Sounds complicated." Zero sighed, seeing the worried look on Quatre's face. "I guess I'll stay here on the ship, backing you guys up."

"Good." said Kirin. Her face then lighted up. "Actually...there is something that you might be able to pilot. Not right now, but later on."

"Really." Zero felt a little left out. She want to pilot a Gundam, too, but seeing as only a handful of them could pilot the machines and actually stay mentally intact, that took guts. She only had her ship and her treasure. She wasn't going to trade sanity for everything she worked so hard for. "Ok, then, come to me when the time comes."

"All right." Kirin turned to Heero. "Heero, can you get the blueprints for me? While we wait to re-enter Earth, we'll look at the prints. Quatre, can you really get us a factory to work at?"

"Of course, Kirin." replied the Arab. "Whatever else you need you can just ask."  
"Thank you." Kirin clasped her hands together. She watched from the corner of her eye, she saw Heero leave the bridge. "I heard something disturbing before we left. That's why I needed to be alone and that's why I'm starting this production."

"Shouldn't we wait for Heero?" asked Duo. "I think he'd want to hear this."

"I'll tell him later." Kirin said softly. "Here's what I heard: Lee is planning an operation called Chaos. He's sending a shuttle full of those soldiers, the ones that look like me, to each of the Colonies. If I'm right, Lee will be inputting the data from last night's event and making them stronger and more ruthless. They'll probably send workers to the Colonies, too. The reason is, is that they will create a cannon and point it directly at Earth. While that's happening, Lee will be creating a decoy, sending mobile suits and dolls to take Earth's mind off the Colonies and start an offensive rally. Once the cannon is finished, the Colonies will be moved and centered at Earth. That's all I've managed to get. I don't know if it's just another ploy or if its a real operation. All I know is that it bothers me and I have to be prepared for whatever happens. I don't know when it will happen, but it's safe to start now."

"And why aren't we telling, Heero?" asked Yume. "I think he would've loved to input his two cents in."

"Because I have another job for him to do and I think he'd do a better job if he wasn't caught up in this predicament." said Kirin. She quieted just as she heard the automatic doors open. Smiling, she turned to face Heero. "Oh, Heero, you're my hero!"

Heero stared at Kirin as if he had never saw her before. Why was she acting so sweet all of a sudden? He decided not to pursue it any further. This was one of many facets of Kirin's emotions. He wasn't going to argue with it nor was he going to try and go around it. He'd accept her and all the other crap she'd bring down on him. He set the papers in front of Kirin. "I took the liberty of looking through them first."

"Are you going to tell me that you've found a model that suits you?" Kirin sat down on the floor and spread the papers all around her. "Let me guess, you've decided on Zeitgeist, haven't you?"

Besides the attraction to the appearance of the Gundam, the notes written to the side of the blueprints caught his eye. Zeitgeist was suppose to be the new model for Archangel once she upgraded it. Seeing as she didn't have time, amongst all the missions she had been on, she had just decided to make it a new model. The assumed power levels Kirin had written on the sides made it seem that Zeitgeist was a machine not to be taken lightly. Once it was built, it could possibly surpass his coveted Wing Zero. "Will it have the ZERO System?"

"Of course. They all will-" Kirin suddenly noticed the paled looks of the other pilots. "I take it you guys don't like the ZERO system?"

"Not many memorable experiences with it, Kirin." said Quatre. "Let's just say, we can do well without it."

"Oh." Kirin looked at Yume and Shin. "We'll have to work with them on that."

"Work with us on what?" asked Wufei. "The last time I used that damned ZERO system-"

"Believe me, once you get used to it, it'll become your best friend in space and on the battlefield." said Kirin. "How do you think Shin and Yume get used to it?"

"Well that's them." said Wufei. "I'm not going to let you get me back into that cockpit."

"There's always a way to beat the system, Wufei. You're a Gundam pilot, for crying out loud! It does have a weakness."

Wufei crossed his arms and leaned close to Kirin. "You are not putting me in a cockpit with that dishonorable system! I refuse!"

Kirin sighed. "Fine. Act like a big baby. At least give it one more try. We'll try a simulation on my cockpit and if you can't wind your finger around it, then I'll get you out of there." 

Wufei turned away indignantly. For one thing, he wasn't a big baby. He was just very adamant about being cooped up in a small space with that deceiving System. And for another thing...he doubted a system like that had a weakness. Unless the one who piloted it was its weakness... "Fine."

"Huh?" Kirin looked up. "What happened?"

"I'll do it. But only once!" Wufei snapped. He turned on his heel and stormed over to a wall and leaned against it.

"Huh." Kirin shook her head. "Okay, Heero wants Zeitgeist-"

"What's that mean?" asked Duo. "Zeitgeist? Where the hell is it from anyway?"

"I read it in a dictionary while I was creating the blueprints for it. It's an old word from Germany meaning the moral, characteristic, or spirit of the time of a certain era or period. I just thought it sounded pretty." replied Kirin. She ignored Yume and Shin's snickers. "Okay, so I'm not a genius at naming things. Most of the names of these new Gundam models are from Greek Mythology. I was into history back then, so sue me!"

"I keep forgetting," said Shin. "Kirin is younger than us and she tends to stay in school longer."

Kirin narrowed her eyes at Shin. "I'm not that much younger than Yume! Besides, at least I'm not...OLD."

"What?" Shin growled.

Kirin crawled onto her hands and knees and hid behind Heero's legs. "You heard me. You're turning the big two-oh this year, aren't you?"

"Ah! Shut up!" Shin cried. "I am not old!"

"Enough." Heero snapped. "Now is not the time to be playing."

Kirin looked up at Heero. She never realized how tall he was until that moment. She got to her knees and wrapped her arms around Heero's lower abdomen. "You're not mad at me, are you, Heero?"

Heero shook his head. He wish he could scream, but knowing if he did, he'd scare Kirin and it would seem that he was upset with her. "Of course not. Can we continue?"

"Okay." Kirin snuggled into Heero's stomach quickly enough to leave his mouth gaping slightly. That was one sensation he wasn't going to forget so soon. She pulled away and sat down on the floor again. "Ok. There are four more up for grabs. There's Gundam Anubis; in ancient Egypt he was the God of the Dead. It has a electro-scrambler and hyper-jammers. Then there's Hyperion, named for one of the Greek Titans. This Gundam has massive firepower. What I mean is, is that this is a walking artillery base. If it was in an actual battle, it could out last at least three to four legions of mobile dolls with at least a few more rounds to spare with some stray grenades. Prometheus is also the name of a Greek Titan who was a benefactor and friend to humanity. Not much on attacking but defensive-wise, it's tough to get beaten down. And lastly is Nemesis, who was a Greek Goddess of divine justice and whatnot, who is more of a balanced Gundam. Equal offensive and defensive capabilities. Believe me, when they're all up and running, you'll thank me for them."

"So," said Duo. "When do we start?"

"Well, once we get everything cleared with Quatre's family and I get the parts..." Kirin's eyes wandered over to an open door. She quickly stood and crossed her arms. "You're finally awake." 

The young girl standing in the doorway was the center of many scorned stares. Not one could she see that welcomed her. Tears filled her eyes. Once again she was the center of ridicule and hate. She wasn't such a bad person. She was obedient. She did as she was told. Was that such a crime? She let her head hang low, locks of hair falling over her face and covering her tear-stained cheeks. This was what it was always like when she revealed her true self. She wasn't proud of it. It was something she just had to do. "I-I'm..."

"Forgiven."

Ayako lifted up her head slowly and met with a pair of comforting gold eyes. She hadn't realized that Kirin was actually holding her up. Had she heard right? She didn't even apologize yet and already...

"We're all on the same ship, right?" asked Kirin. 

Ayako could only nod her head. She had a feeling a metaphor was coming up. She gazed at the other persons in the room. They seemed surprised at Kirin's action.

"Then I guess we're all following the same course, huh? We're all heading to Earth?" Kirin asked her.

"Y-yeah..." was it a metaphor? Ayako felt a little awkward, being held up by a young woman who naturally towered over her.

"Ok, then. Welcome aboard." Kirin gave her a hug. "Don't mind anyone, we're just a little knocked up. Give us a few hours and we'll be like family to you!"

And where was the metaphor in there? She could've sworn Kirin was building up to a metaphor. Unless she missed it completely. That couldn't be it. She was taught how to listen for hints in any conversation. But this one...it was like...

"Don't worry." said Kirin. She was smiling. "I confuse a lot of people. Ask Heero."

Ayako's blue eyes flicked to Heero who had a dark, menacing look on his face. "I...I'll pass."

"So, Ayako." said Kirin. She sat her on the ground with her. The papers were pushed aside as the two girls sat. "What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know." said Ayako. "I'm still a little unbalanced."

"That's perfectly understandable." Kirin said. She looked up and smiled at Heero. "Do you think we can give her a job?"

"Doing what?" asked Heero. He still wasn't going to forget, or forgive, what Ayako had done to them. "We can just shoot-"

"Heero!" Kirin scowled at him. She looked at Shin, Yume, then at Quatre. "What do you think, Quatre?"

"She's a pretty good spy." said Quatre. 

"Good thinking, Quatre." Kirin crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned over the Gundam blueprints. "I'll be too busy with this to do anything else. I've got all points covered...what am I missing?" She turned her head and looked at Ayako. "Do you think you're up to it?"

"Up to what?" asked Ayako, noticing that she was starting to shake. She clasped her hands together and looked around the room again. It seemed to be getting bigger and bigger all around her.

"We're planning a retaliation against Lee. I'll be busy with these little puppies and everyone else is going to be helping out. I have to admit I forgot about you, but now that I think of it, I need you. Are you up to it?"

"Retaliation against Lee?" Ayako asked. She shrugged. "I'll do whatever you want me to do."

"Actually, I have two jobs for you. Ready?" Kirin snapped her fingers in front of Ayako's face. "I want you to listen carefully, Ayako. It's very important."

"Ok, I'm listening." Ayako sighed.

"You are to follow Relena Peacecraft. Find out what she does every morning, what she eats, what she wears, what she likes, what she hates, and why she's obsessing over Heero-" Heero gave a small growl which resulted in a hysterical giggle from Kirin. "Yes, I want to know that, too. I also want to know who she hangs around with, where, what time, and also, WHY. I'm giving you a week. Once you report back to me, I want you to follow her again. Tell me what she does if it's different from her normal schedule. That'll stand until I give you your second orders."

"My second orders?"

"Yes." Kirin leaned in closer to Ayako so that not even Heero could hear. "I told everyone else of Operation: Chaos. Have you heard of it?"

"Yeah. Everyone on the Colony was informed of it." replied Ayako, in a similar whisper. 

"Ok. I haven't told Heero, yet. It's best that his mission be separate from the others. This has to be perfect, ok? We're on a strict time schedule and its best that no one gets in the way of anyone else, so I want you to be especially careful. If you get in trouble, I don't know if I'll be able to help you, if not, you're on you're on, but if I can help, you know I'll be there, alright?"

"Alright." 

Kirin leaned back and smiled at Heero again. "Girl talk."

"Hn." He didn't like it when Kirin kept secrets from him. Not to mention lie to him and try to brush him off. He stared at Ayako. He was going to find out what they were talking about. Oh, yes...he'd definitely find out.

"All right, then. I guess we've got all the primary points covered." Kirin stood and waved the papers at the four remaining pilots. "Have you all decided on which Gundams you want or do you want to think it over?"

"Can we see the blueprints?" asked Quatre.

"Of course." Kirin handed Quatre the blueprints. "When you're done with them give them to either myself or Heero."

Quatre took the blueprints carefully and turned to Trowa and Wufei who surrounded him. "These are magnificent, Kirin."

"Thank you. Call me once we've gone to Earth, all right?" Kirin turned to leave the bridge.

"Kirin." Heero called. Where was she going now? First she's keeping a secret from him, now she was going to hide from him. Again.

Kirin stopped and put a hand on her hip. "I'm going to the top deck, Heero. In fact, why don't you come with me? We have to talk." 

Yume wolf whistled, nudging Shin in the side. "Heero's going to the 'top' deck with Kirin to 'talk.' Pretty vague, isn't it, Shin?"

Shin caught onto Yume's hints. She ignored Kirin's glare. "Yeah. They're probably going to discuss who's the better 'pilot.'"

Heero ignored Yume and Shin's teasing and took Kirin's elbow as he passed. "Let them think what they want."

Kirin scowled at Yume and Shin one last time before being pulled away by Heero. As soon as the automatic doors closed, Yume, Shin, and Duo burst into hysterical laughter. 

For the time being, everything was back to normal.

[Earth] Peacecraft Estate 9:03 a.m.

Relena Peacecraft tapped her fingers on the cold, glass table in her formal sitting room, waiting for Mark to make his report. For two days straight there had been no activity at Kirin's safe house. She didn't mean for everything to turn out so badly. All she wanted was to see Heero, to talk to him, to possibly coax him back to live with her at her large estate. Oh, and the other pilots, too. If they wanted to.

For two days she had worried for the well being of Heero...and the others. She didn't care too much for Kirin's associates, they were all against her. But that day...two days ago...it was a horrible experience she never wanted to deal with again! By now Kirin might be dead and Heero might be in an absolute rage. The other pilots might as well be mindless zombies since they followed every one of Heero's command.

Pagan entered the room silently, still bearing the cut over his eye. He set down a porcelain tea pitcher and two accommodating cups. He placed the sugar and honey on either side of the pitcher and turned to Relena before he left the room. "Mr. Macbeth is at the door. Shall I serve breakfast in here, Miss Relena?"

"Yes, thank you, Pagan." said Relena. She sighed then fidgeted. Within her shoulder cast was a very inconspicuous spot where it was irritatingly itchy. She whimpered slightly, wanting to scratch the itch but knew very well she couldn't. She turned, seeing a glimpse of black in her white and pink sitting room. "Good morning, Mr. Macbeth. Is there any news?"

Mark dropped into the chair opposite her and shook his head. "I've staked the house day and night. No one's home. The furniture has been moved in, electricity, water, and gas are working. The vehicles are still there. No one's come back in two days. I don't know if they'll be back. 'If' is the key word."

Relena bit her lower lip. If she hadn't been so eager to see Heero. If only she hadn't been so impatient and so naive. If only...if only Kirin Shido hadn't showed up and ruined everything between herself and Heero. Damn that woman!

"Miss Peacecraft?"

Relena had been clenching her fists tight enough that they were beginning to look white. She laughed nervously and unclenched her fists. She forced herself to relax and turned to Mark. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Mark was halfway out of his seat. "I have a friend who has access to files in Space transportation. Maybe they just left space for a few days to let things cool down here? I'm sure nothing bad has happened to them."

Relena smiled, feeling some tension leave her. That's right, she just needed some positive reinforcement. Nothing bad happened to Heero or the other pilots. The three girls she could care less about. She waved a hand over the tea. "Let's have breakfast first before you go. I wouldn't want to seem inhospitable."

Mark sat down slowly. "All right then. But, if I may, can I ask you a question?"

"Yes, of course." Relena lifted her cup, filled with hot tea, and began to sip.

"Why are you worried about Heero Yuy?"

Relena choked and spit her tea back into her cup. She stared at Mark as tea droplets dribbled down her chin. "Excuse me?"

"A few moments ago you were muttering. You said you were worried about Heero and Kirin had ruined 'everything' between you two. I thought you said Kirin killed your lover?"

She had said that out loud? Relena remembered a few days ago when she had said it. Now if only she could somehow manipulate him to believe her lie. "Yes, she did kill my lover." Make the lie seem like an old wound. "But it was almost a year ago. I met Heero shortly afterwards and I guess I fell in love with him."

Mark sat back in his chair. "Really. When we spoke, you looked as if it was recent. If that wasn't the case, you would've asked me to look for Kirin months ago. And besides..." Mark leaned over the table. "A year ago I saw Kirin with her two friends at a weapons convention. They're usually in Space and its rare that Kirin and her friends go to Earth unless absolutely necessary."

"Are you calling me a liar?" Relena accused him. She forced her eyes to began tearing up. "I lost a loved one-"

"I'm sure. You lost your father years ago and your mother just last year from a car crash. I don't think Kirin would go out of her way to spite you. She'd have to know you first." Mark stood and grabbed the tea. He swallowed the lukewarm contents and wiped his mouth with the back of his arm. "Nice story, Peacecraft. I almost believed you. I want my money, now, if you don't mind."

Relena sat with her mouth gaping wide open. "I...uh..."

"I said five now and five later. I don't care about the other five. I want the money I asked for now." said Mark. He'd be damned if he stayed there any longer than he had to. If it was one thing to be lied to it was another thing to be used. He hated both.

"I'll wire it to your account within the day." Relena said softly.

"Good, 'cause between me and Kirin, Kirin wouldn't hesitate to kill you. I'd at least give you a head start. I'll be checking my account every hour, then. If not, I'm coming back here with Kirin and we'll have a field day with you. With or without the cast." Mark growled. He stormed out of the sitting room, causing the teacups to rattle as he passed.

Moments later the front door slammed and Pagan rushed into the room. "I heard the commotion, Miss Relena. What happened?"

Relena had been threatened by one man and was probably condemned by another. What was she to do now? She began to cry.

"Miss Relena?" Pagan patted her good shoulder. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Yes." sobbed Relena. "Get me out of here."

Pagan looked at his surroundings. "Where do you want to go, Miss Relena?"

"Away from here. Out of this house. Everyone seems to be after me." she cried. "I want to leave!"

"A-all right, Miss Relena." Pagan called for the other attendants. Soon the sitting room was filled with cleaning maids, cooks, and security. "Miss Peacecraft will be leaving the estate for a few days. The location will be withheld but I will make calls from day to day to check on the condition of the estate. We'll begin packing and we'll leave within the hour. Is that understood?"

The attendants all nodded their heads and left the room in a hushed silence. Pagan waited a moment longer before going behind Relena and pushing her out of the room. "Is there any particular place you want to go, Miss Peacecraft?"

Of course there was. She wanted to see Heero. She'd settle for the closest place near him. She looked at Pagan and he already knew her answer. She turned away just as another itch resurfaced, but instead of her shoulder, it was her leg.

Pagan sighed. She wanted to be near Heero. What was it about him that attracter her to him? If he remembered correctly, Kirin was caught in Heero's room. What did it take for Relena to realize that Heero wasn't interested? Obviously he was more preoccupied with Kirin. He shook his head sadly. He knew if Relena continued in this manner, it would eventually lead to heartache.

[Space] Zenith 9:30 a.m.

"You wanted to talk." said Heero Yuy. He gave the empty, upper deck a cursory glance. He turned to Kirin who dropped to the floor and rolled onto her back. She pointed up and smiled contentedly as she gazed into the star field. 

The star field, as it named implied, was a field of stars and small, insignificant planets. Ranging from largely burning balls of gas to space junk that reflected off the sun's light, one couldn't tell one true star from a the section of a shuttle piece. It was eerily serene, stars floating past, twinkling in different lights and passing so close as to brush Zenith. Heading back to Earth where they would prepare for the first phase of Kirin's plan.

"Down to business as always, Heero?" Kirin asked. She beckoned with her finger and patted the space beside her. "Sit with me, Heero. I don't like it when I have to look up too far to speak to you."

Heero obliged and sat, cross-legged on the floor. "What-"

Kirin took his arm and pulled him closer. He collapsed to his side, almost growling at Kirin when she put her head on his shoulder. "Let's just stay like this for a little while. Ok, Heero?"

Heero's tense body relaxed enough to get the sensation of Kirin's silky head accustomed to the position of his body. He gave a final sigh and lay flat on his back, staring up at the clear dome that was the upper deck. "Talk."

Kirin muffled a small giggle and began tracing his collar bone with her left hand. "I have a mission for you, Heero. But, I don't know if you'll like it."

"Tell me." Heero demanded. Whether he liked it or not wasn't the idea, a mission was a mission and he'd do it with great vigor.

Kirin sighed as her hand traveled down his chest and circled his lower abdomen. "Mark is working for Relena. I admit he's not up to par with your skills, but he's competent enough to follow orders and do what is needed. I have another friend, somewhere in Ireland who makes up for all of Mark's bad qualities. I'm not going into them right now, but the three of you are going to have to work together."

Aside from having Kirin's fingers petting his stomach and her voice that brought pleasurable chills down his spine, something was bothering him about this little mission Kirin was setting up for him. "What are you saying, Kirin?"

Kirin's hand snaked under his green tank top and began caressing his abdomen in a slow, tantalizing motion with her nails. She smiled when she felt his body tense instead of relax. "This mission, whether you choose to accept or not, is to sabotage Lee's plan. Lee's planning on sending the engineered soldiers to the surrounding Colonies, Heero. If I'm right, which in some cases, I wish I weren't, he's putting into effect parts of Operation: Meteor. Once the colonies are filled with his soldiers, he'll deliver an ultimatum to Earth. If they agree, the colonies will stay intact, if they don't, the colonies will fall on Earth."

"How am I to sabotage them?" Heero asked. His anger was starting to rise. Operation: Meteor was a failure the first time, the second time, it was almost successful, and the third time...the third time might just be the one that succeeds. 

"Do whatever you can, Heero." Kirin said thoughtfully. "You'll be gone for a majority of the time, though. I won't be able to see you since I'll be working, too."

Not see Kirin? Now he knew why she was being so intimate with him. The hand on his stomach had stopped moving, but the sensation of her nails running over his stomach worked overtime on his senses. He shifted and regretted it. Her hand moved away and rested on his chest.

"Heero." Kirin sat up and looked towards him. "How long have we known each other?"

Heero blinked. He counted the first day he met her, the days they spent together on Earth, and the time including now, it would be almost a week. Six days to be exact. But for the sake of reasoning, it was a week. "I believe a week."

Kirin nodded softly. A week with Heero. Hard to believe they had been together for a whole week of hell. They had saved each other from their fates. Resolved into joining together to fight those who went against them, they only had each other in the world. Oh, added that Yume is Heero's sister. In terms to a relationship like theirs...it was a wonder that they weren't already killed. Maybe their instincts were better than those around them? Maybe a relationship like theirs could exist? Kirin took a blind leap and straddled Heero. Before he could jump up, she put a pale finger to his lips. "Wait, Heero, before you say anything, ok? Just let me look at you."

Heero forced himself to relax. He had never gotten into a position like this before. A woman such as Kirin being dominant was, in a sense, terrifying, yet...strangely enticing. He watched her as her hands reached for his face, running her hands through his hair and leaning close to look into his blue eyes. He felt her smile even as she brushed a feather-light kiss across his eyes. Was the thought of not seeing him for awhile affect her that much? His breath hitched as she planted another light-kiss on the corner of his mouth. She was being so sweet and tender, it was driving him to the brink of madness. "Kirin..."

"Not yet, Heero. Don't say anything, yet..." she whispered in his ear. Her lips traveled down his cheek and found the hollow of his neck. Leaving nothing untouched, she brought her teeth onto the sensitive flesh, creating a powerful stirring in his groin. His arms shot around her, trying to figure out why she was driving him crazy and why he didn't respond in the same fashion. 

His slow seduction was torture. He knew he never experienced anything like this before, knew that if he wanted to lose the only part of him intact, he'd want to give it to someone that mattered. And Kirin, technically she was a virgin, too, but being violated when she was young did make things a little complicated. Did she really want this? With him of all people? 

He hadn't realized he was helping remove Kirin's clothes until the sound of the zipper reached his ears. Like a mindless zombie, he watched the material fold to the floor and Kirin's pale flesh beckon to him. He felt her lips brush his collar bone, her hands moved under his shirt; she became silent when his own hands moved over her neck and down her back. She smiled as he brought her closer and kissed her, a gesture that he wasn't famously known for. His shirt was discarded, thrown into a dark crevice of the secured upper deck, while Kirin still remained appropriately dressed. That was soon going to change. 

He lifted her up gently, still amazed how light she was- or maybe he was just too strong?- and watched as she quickly removed the rest of her bodysuit. Wearing only a pair of underwear and an alluring bra, he set her down again and waited as she began another seductive onslaught.

Kirin watched Heero warily, making sure that what he wanted was the same as hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, savoring the feel and the taste as she dipped her tongue into his mouth. She heard a small moan come from the back of his throat and knew he was ready to go one step beyond. She pulled her arms back and guided his hands to the latch of her bra while her hands reached for the zipper of his pants. Free from the feminine restraint, she allowed Heero to look at her, see her in her most vulnerable aspect. She was almost afraid that he'd faint. She knew just by the total lack of participation on his part, that he was new at this. She, however, had experience-though all were bad, with men who took advantage of her. But she did know how to give and take.

This wasn't like him at all. He looked into Kirin's eyes and saw her staring intently at him. He was a man, he had needs and this was one of them. If he brought himself to touch her, would he be able to restrain himself if there was a next time? It was bad enough he was a naturally possessive man, but when he took her, heart, mind, soul, and body...would their lives ever be the same again? Her hands took his and brought them to her breasts, permitting him to have a feel for them, have his senses remember the sensation of his hands on her flesh. He was completely inexperienced in this notion and he knew that Kirin knew that. He was grateful that they were going at a slow pace. He probably wouldn't function properly if anything went beyond the pace she had set for them.

His hands began caressing her breasts. It filled the palm of his hand, soft and ripe at the same time. It was his turn to be daring. He dipped his head closer, kissing just below the valley of her breasts. She gasped softly, never once thinking Heero could- or would- do such a thing. He pulled her closer, having complete access to her breasts and in another instant, had one soft nipple in his mouth. He suckled gently, remembering the same technique used in a movie he had once watched. 

He hated remembering that he learned it from a movie Duo had brought home once. Duo insisted they all watch it and once they were gathered around with popcorn and refreshments, the video began to play and it was none other than a porno-film. Quatre had become upset and banned Duo from renting videos. Wufei had a nosebleed, Trowa had choked on kernel of popcorn, and Heero had expertly turned away while still keeping one eye on the screen. Relena, on the other hand, who had come in just when another scene between a man and three women were involved in sexual intercourse, had screamed and fainted. As usual, Duo laughed and ran from the other pilots. Another tasteless joke done by Duo 'The Braided Idiot' Maxwell.

Kirin gasped softly, tossing her head back and arching her body against Heero's. Her hands ran through his hair. She shut her eyes and bit her lips as her body began to react in ways she never knew it could. The sensation on one breast stopped. She almost groaned in disappointment when the sensation started up again on her other breast. She would have never thought that she could be able to bring out the primal side of Heero Yuy. It was the eighth wonder of the world that had surfaced.

Distracted, Kirin had forgotten about the task of removing Heero's pants. As Heero worked her into a sexual frenzy, her hands stumbled upon the pair of tight jeans Heero was so fond of wearing. The bulge in his pants gave the indication he was ready.

Kirin tugged at her underwear and watched as Heero's hands moved to help her. She wiggled out of the last feminine restraint and sat before Heero, knowing that she was fully naked in front of him and wanting him all the same. Before she moved, her hands came to his pants and undid them, tugging them free while Heero put his gun in a safe place; the same gun he possessed that always seemed to stay out of sight. 

Her eyes turned to the erect organ, glistening in the faint starlight. She involuntarily swallowed hard, hoping that her body was prepared for such a permitted intrusion. Pushing aside any fear, knowing that Heero would never, ever hurt her, she moved onto Heero and lowered herself onto his member. Gasping at the filling sensation, Kirin knew she bit her lip too hard for she tasted blood and Heero's lips. She turned to him, clutching him greedily, letting her body adjust to Heero's size. After a moment, she began to rise and fall to a steady rhythm of their breathing. Her body began asking for more, wanting to take Heero as far as she could. She shifted slightly, feeling his blunted tip push against her core. She realized Heero was learning a lot from her as his tongue brushed inside her mouth, creating an intense wave of pleasure roll through her. She moaned as Heero jerked forward, hitting her on the inside unexpectedly. 

His body was gaining adrenaline even as they moved as one. His body was ruling his mind and his judgment and all he wanted was to feel Kirin, taste her, hold her, be a part of her, anything that would claim her as his. His hands moved to her hips, an anchor for his hands so that when he thought the time was right, he'd take another chance and prove to her what he had learned. He saw her face, her eyes, clouded with pleasure and lust, her mouth, waiting for him to devour it, her body, aching for him and needing him. He wasn't going to let Kirin have all the glory. His hands gripped her hips and in a lifting motion, he lifted her up for a moment then brought her down again, creating a loud groan of ecstasy. He repeated the action, enjoying the sound he was creating come from his lover.

Her body was bombarded by sensations she thought she no longer had. Her heart pounded with each thrust, her mind was beginning to sharpen only to turn to dust once they were finished. Her body instinctively went taut, gripping Heero's organ like a glove. She heard him groan softly, not as loud as she, but knew he was also on the verge of his peak. Her arms wrapped around his back, nails digging downwards. He was sweaty and growing tired, but his stamina was still going on strong. Her legs wrapped around his waist while she threw her head back in pleasure. 

Kirin's hips began to buckle as Heero's labored breathing came hot in her ears. The peak came slow but hard, spreading the awareness from where they were joined. It rolled through them both as their bodies throbbed and relaxed. Kirin leaned into Heero's sweaty embrace and nuzzled into his neck. She continued clutching him as if her life depended on it. She was too spent to move and too much of a haze to say anything. Of all the men that she had ever known, Heero was a considerate lover. He had taken the initiative to ensure her peak without thinking of his own. But knowing that, Kirin had also been considerate of him. She knew how to give and take.

They both sat in the darkened deck, holding each other and reminiscing of what they shared. Kirin's fingers played over Heero's back, traveling up to touch the edges of his hair down to the base of his spine. She sighed heavily, contentedly, a new sound that made Heero secretly smile. Heero's arms enveloped Kirin's waist and held her there. He rested his head on her shoulder, linking his hands with hers. He would rather die in her arms than face the world outside.

"I'm sorry. You wanted to say something earlier." Kirin whispered softly. "What was it?"

Broken from his reverie, Heero lifted his head and gazed into the twinkling pools of gold. His hand reached up and smoothed back the silver tresses that fell over her face. The thought escaped him. Looking at her in all her...naked...glory, it had a profound effect on him. He was speechless, his mind was a blank, and his heart felt as if it were trying to escape him. He was grateful for her patience. He only wondered if she could wait a little longer before he revealed his one and only secret. But he had to take into consideration Kirin's feelings. Would she reply in kind to him or turn him away?

"Heero?" Kirin touched his face with her hand. "Is something wrong?"

"No." Heero shook his head softly. "There's nothing wrong."

"Didn't you want to say something?" she began feeling guilty. Instead of a healthy relationship of talking and getting to know one another, she had skipped all of that and dove immediately into physical attraction and intimacy. She vowed from that point on she'd take things slow. Not so slow as to make herself trip, but slow enough that she and Heero were both comfortable.

"It can wait." Heero replied softly. And it could. He was just beginning to sort out his feelings for her. Now was too soon. It could wait. He hoped it could wait. To him, time, energy, and Kirin, were worth waiting for.

Kirin simply nodded and moved her arms to envelope around his neck. "Can we stay here a while? I'm a little tired."

Heero shifted his weight from her and lay beside her. They faced each other, limbs still entwined with one another. He pulled Kirin closer to his embrace, covering her bare essentials with his arms. He waited until she shut her eyes. She belonged to him, body, mind, and soul. He hesitantly closed his eyes, dreading the moment when he had to return to reality. 

Reality wasn't so bad...as long as Kirin was with him.


	3. Operation: Evolution

[Earth-Sank Kingdom Space Port] 3:57 p.m.

This wasn't the first time she had been on Earth. Oh, she'd been there several times before, each time she was on a mission. Did this certain aspect qualify as a mission? She peered outside from the doorway, watching the crew of the Zenith move in and out of the lower section of the ship. There were masses of boxes and crates spread around the rear of the massive ship. Zero, the captain, stood on a crate, giving out commands in a strangely, uncharacteristic 'nice voice.'

She took a few steps onto the diagonal platform and searched the port. She spotted Quatre talking to a very tall man. He was twice as tall as Quatre and had soft brown eyes that contrasted to his full set of dark brown hair. He wore a white, long-sleeved shirt with a red vest and khaki pants. He had three associates who wore the same clothes and each with distinctive appearances. One had glasses, another with a moustache, and the third was indistinct. She turned just in time to see Wufei walk under the platform she stood on and talk to a pretty young woman with blonde hair, that curiously curled and hung just below her shoulders, and blue eyes. She didn't wear the clothes of a port-worker, instead, she had on an army-green suit and a jacket with a stylized P on the side. She couldn't remember at the moment what the P stood for, but she knew that a few years ago, it was very important to the defense of Earth. She saw Trowa, Shin, Duo, and Yume standing by a man with a tropical shirt and dark sunglasses. Why anyone would want to wear sunglasses inside a shuttle-port was beyond her. She stepped off the platform and made her way towards Yume. If Kirin had accepted her, then so would Yume and Shin. She hoped the same went for the others.

"Ayako." Yume acknowledged her presence and nodded. "Have you seen Kirin or Heero?"

"No." Ayako shook her head. "Last time I heard, they were up on deck."

"Yeah." said Shin. "I checked there before I got off. They weren't in there." She looked over her shoulder. "They couldn't have gotten far without passing us in the bridge."

"Maybe they're hiding?" Duo suggested. "Heero's pretty good in disappearing."

"Why and where would he hide?" Trowa asked. "And with Kirin? That isn't reasonable."

"Just a suggestion." Duo said wistfully.

A commotion caught the attention of the pilots and the crew. A side door beside Zenith was kicked open, revealing an ominous silhouette. Snarling, the shadow stepped forward, bring his face into the light. Brown eyes washed over the docking port, growling as he moved towards Yume. "Where's Shido?"

"That's a popular question." Yume replied dryly. "We were just discussing that. What's wrong with you?"

"I just came from Peacecraft's house. She's a little bitch." Mark spat. He wiped at his mouth with his forearm. "Her butler makes crappy tea, too."

"How did you know we were here?" Shin demanded. It was a little unnerving to have Mark as their welcoming committee.

"I tapped into the frequency lines." Mark said quickly. "That's not important. I need to speak with Shido."

"I'm listening."

Mark turned on his heel and stood face to face with Heero. The perfect soldier had his arms crossed, his mouth turned into a cruel frown, and his eyes were a deep blue. He didn't seem to happy with Mark's presence. "What? Do I have to answer to your guard dog, now?"

Kirin shook her head, making strands of silver fall over her eyes. "I was hoping you'd come later so then I could ease up some of my responsibilities onto you, but you have to make everything so dramatic and come prematurely."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Mark demanded. "I need to talk to you about Relena."

"And I need to talk to you about Lee." Kirin retorted. Gold eyes flashed to the worried faces of her friends. She drew her arms around Heero's waist and leaned against his shoulder. "Later. For now, tell me what you've discovered about Relena. I need to hear this."

"Relena gave me this sob-story about how you killed her lover. Supposedly she recently met Heero and instantly fell in love with him. Obviously I believed it, so I found out your location, gave it to her, and she gave it to Lee." Mark watched Kirin's reaction. She didn't seem upset. With her nod, he continued. "At her estate she got her story confused. One minute she was telling me how you recently killed her lover, the next, you ruined her relationship with Heero, and then she tells me you killed her lover a year ago. I got suspicious and realized she played me the moment I stepped into the room."

"No, Mark." Kirin shook her head. "She played you the moment you answered her call. And what do you want? Revenge or money?"

"Both." Mark sniped. "I hate being played like that and I hate being short-handed from my money that I worked so hard for."

"Worked hard for?" Kirin stepped away from Heero and moved in front of Mark. "You gave away my location to my uncle who tried to kill me and my friends! What hard work is in that? You played the snitch and you expect to get paid? He's planning on ruining the Earth and all you can worry about is your money? If you want money, fine. I can provide you with that. But I want your word that you'll help me. And I'll make sure that Heero will make you work for your money. Guaranteed."

"Whoa, whoa." Mark held up his hands. All his anger was gone by the sheer tone in her voice. Cold and demanding. "You want me to work for you?"

Kirin smiled menacingly. "Yes. I have something that needs to be done in secret. But I'll go into details later." 

"Wait, why won't you tell me now?" Mark asked. Feeling something dark and ominous crawl into his stomach. He didn't like the way Kirin smiled at him. "I want to know now. And for what price."

"Oh, fine." Kirin waved her hand at him. "Like I said, this has to be done in secret." She grabbed Mark by the wrist and began dragging him towards an empty room.

"Hey, what's so secret that you can't tell us?" Yume demanded. She didn't like it when Kirin was being so hush-hush about missions. Especially when it concerned her brother and a man who tried to get them killed.

"That..." Kirin grinned at Yume. "Is a secret."

"Ooh, damn it, Kirin! Don't bring Xel into this!" Yume cried. She watched as Kirin, Mark, and Heero disappear into the room and lock the door. "Don't that beat all..."

"So what's this all about, Shido?" demanded Mark. He was sat on a crate with Heero the only barrier between him and Kirin.

"You, Heero, and Poa Finnegan will be the saboteurs of Lee's plans." Kirin said simply. "Meaning, within the next week or so, you'll need to memorize every entrance and exit to Lee's colonies and make sure you have an escape route in case of any extreme emergencies. Afterwards, you'll have to employ yourself as one of his soldiers. I'll expect all three of you to gain their trust as well as access to top-secret areas, especially those that pertain to me and everyone of Earth."

"And how are we to sabotage them?" asked Mark. "It'll take months for us to actually get anywhere in there."

"Don't you think I know that?" Kirin paced the small room. "I was one of the heads to personalize the main-computer. I think I can manage getting you the passes. Not to mention a little tattoo on your wrist. It shouldn't be hard."

"You can 'manage'?" Mark repeated. "I want a guarantee. I'm not going to put my life on the line-"

"It's always about you, isn't it?" Kirin snarled. "It's never about someone else. For once, can you get your head out of your ass and do something that could benefit everyone else but you?"

"What about you, Shido?" Mark stood, aware that Heero had stood up, too. "What good are you doing for Earth? They turned you out. Turned their backs on you when your uncle went to jail. They never accepted you. They looked down on you, pitied you, and left you to rot. Why are you doing all this? What good will it do to you?"

Kirin had stopped pacing the room. She made distance between herself and the two males. "I've spent half of my life destroying the lives of others. Each time I did it, I questioned my existence. People that I have met, and have destroyed, left some sort of lesson on me. The only way to atone for what I have done is to stop the man that created me. Maybe it doesn't make any sense to you, but this is the only way I know how."

Mark chewed on his lower lip. It sounded reasonable enough. He gave a loud sigh and crossed his arm. "So, how are we going to get in touch with Poa?"

Kirin turned, to hide the smile. "She's storing parts and material for the Gundams. I'll contact her and she'll be here within an hour or so. I suggest you and Heero get acquainted."

Heero made a noise which sounded like a snarl. Kirin laughed softly and turned to him. "Now, Heero, Mark isn't really a lost cause. You'll like him. In the next life, I suppose."

Mark decided not to reply. He watched with interest as Kirin moved towards Heero and kissed him. "Never thought you were the one for public affection, Shido."

"You always were the one who liked to watch, Mark." Kirin retorted. She gave Heero an affectionate hug and escaped out the door before Heero or Mark could protest.

Heero turned, finally sizing up Mark. He was physically bigger than he, taller, but not perfect. "If we're going to work together, then you should know that you are responsible for your own actions. Don't expect me to help you out."

"Thanks. What would Kirin say about that? After all, we do have to work together to achieve our goal." said Mark.

"Our actions determine whether or not we reach our goal." Heero answered. 

"How did I know you were going to say that?" Mark grumbled. He sighed, running his hands through his hair. "Let's not keep the General waiting, ok?"

"Hn." Heero stalked towards the door, opening it long enough for him to pass. "You better keep up." The door shut with a loud bang.

"You little..." Mark scurried to the door and swung it open. A thud reverberated through the port. Mark slowly closed the door and stared down at one of Zero's now flat-faced members. "Sorry about that."

"No...problem..." said the pirate.

Mark turned to Heero who stood just arm's length away. "You planned that, didn't you? You're really making me look like an idiot, aren't you?"

"I don't have to. That seems to come naturally to you." Heero retorted. "I didn't swing the door open."

"It seems to me that you're a natural prick!" Mark growled. He pulled his sleeves up, ignoring the fact that Kirin was slowly coming towards them. "You think just because you and Kirin are an item, that you can boss me around and call me an idiot!"

Kirin laughed as she came between the two males. "Is that what this is all about?"

Mark couldn't stop his next words. "It's not funny, Shido! Your boyfriend thinks he's so bad 'cause he's banging you!"

"What?" Kirin boomed. This was one of those times she was glad that she didn't become beet red. But judging the way that all motion had ceased, it was a wonder that she wasn't strangling Mark at that moment. Heero beat her to it.

He moved forward in a blur. His fist planted itself into Mark's face, knocking the six-three man clear across the port and embedding him into the metal-enforced wall. Fists still clenched, he stormed over to Mark's fallen form and stood above him. "You had no right to say that. If you ever mention that again, I won't hesitate in breaking you in half. I don't care what Kirin has to say about that."

"Didn't think you'd take it so personally." Mark groaned. He sat up on his elbows, his right cheek was swollen enough that it puffed his right eye. A trickle of blood escaped his lip and nose. "You're a hell of a lot stronger than you look."

"Don't talk to me as if we're friends. I won't forget what you did to Kirin. I'm putting up with you for Kirin's sake. Watch what you say next time. This will be the only warning you get." Heero stepped away from him and came towards Kirin. "Did you contact Poa?"

"Yeah." Kirin was still steaming, but glad Mark had gotten what he deserved. "She'll be here." She looked over at Mark who was struggling to get up. "I can't believe he said that."

"He won't say it again." Heero replied. He sighed when she stepped into his arms. "I'm doing this for you."

"I know. Thank you, Heero." She tipped her head back, realizing she was still the center of attention. "Hey! Get back to work everyone! This isn't a soap opera!"

Action resumed, some conversations were carried on by hushed whispers. Yume had her hands on her hips as Kirin and Heero sauntered over to where she stood. "I'm not going to be loud about it but, I don't think 'talking on the deck' was the only thing you two did."

"Don't start, Yume. I really don't think Heero would mind punching you clear across this port." Kirin answered. She threw Yume a glance which confirmed Yume's suspicions. "Besides, we have other things to worry about besides our personal life."

"Uh-huh. Sure." A smile spread on Yume's face. She nudged Shin who also broke into a smile. The smile was picked up by Trowa who decided not to betray Heero, and resumed a poker-face. Duo, however, was still clueless.

"What does that mean?" asked Duo. He looked at Yume and Shin for confirmation. They shook their heads and ignored him.

"Poa should be here in an hour or so." Kirin repeated. She called to Quatre who approached her with an armload of paperwork. "What have you go for us, Quatre?"

Quatre dumped the papers onto a nearby table. "I've got three factories that are up and running. There's a fourth one that is stuck in paperwork. We'll have two more by tomorrow."

"Six? Wow, Quatre." Kirin awarded the blonde with a kiss on the cheek. "That's fast work that gives us a good start." She almost laughed, feeling Heero's body edge closer to hers. She disregarded the action and took the top sheet of the Quatre's pile. She read it carefully before speaking. "All right, there's one factory that's several miles from here. Another is on the outskirts of the Sank border and the third is miles from our safe house. The one in question is just within Sank City limits. There's another in the vicinity, but clearly across the city, more or less by Peacecraft Estate. Then there's one on the Eastern border. We have three and a half of six. I have a friend who is bringing in the parts and materials for the Gundams. She's also bringing in some dolls and suits. The dolls will be stationed at each factory for protection. The suits will be used for any who want to pilot them and will be stored here for the time being. Until we receive confirmation on the fourth location and the last two, we'll begin production now."

"Where will the production of the Gundams begin?" asked Quatre. "There's only three secure locations and five Gundams. Can we fit Gundam production all in one factory?"

"Of course not. Once Poa gets here, we'll station the dolls at the factories. As much as possible it has to be done in secret. Once you get the last three, we'll begin simultaneous production. Five of the six factories will be producing Gundams, the sixth factory will be my personal workstation." Kirin spotted a map and pointed to the six locations. "Comparing the addresses to the locations on the map, the factories are spread wide. We have to work fast and efficiently and make sure that our pace doesn't break. I'll station two of you to each factory, we'll build up an underground command center, and from there, we begin phase one."

"We should have a code name for it." said Quatre. "In order for us to keep it secret in case someone intercepts our messages."

"Um, ok." Kirin glanced at the others. "Well, uh, we'll call this Operation: Evolution. Phase One: Preemptive. Second Phase is Incursion and the third phase is Annihilation."

"Nice names, Kirin." Shin murmured.

"Quiet you." Kirin scowled. "It's the best of what I can come up with at such short notice."

Zero hurried beside Kirin, poking her with her finger. "Shido, Shido, Shido!"

"What, what, what?" Distracted, Kirin turned and glared at the Captain. "What crawled up your butt?"

"Look who's here, our favorite person." Zero tilted her head to the entrance of the port. "She's looking peachy."

Ever-so-slowly, Kirin turned her head. A flash of pink and the glint of metal wheels caused her lip to curl in a teeth-baring smile. "Just the person I wanted to see."

She was wheeled into the port by her faithful and trusty manservant, Pagan. Her blue eyes widened when she caught sight of Zero's ship, Zenith. She looked worn out and trampled. Literally. Apparently Mark had managed to step all over the regal Vice Foreign Minister. Wheeled further into the port, hands almost brushing against Zenith, she spotted the group, huddled in a corner, one-or two- in particular, were glaring at her.

"If she so much as touches my ship..." Zero could imagine spending days afterward with her and her crew, cleaning the massive ship, front and back, top to bottom, and inside and out. She shuddered, resigned. "I'm gonna have to burn my ship."

Kirin felt her temper rise each centimeter Relena Peacecraft came closer. Her hands were clenched tightly enough to break their own. Just a few more inches and Relena would be in range of her fist. She was almost hysterical at the idea. She'd been dying to break some bones.

Heero stepped forward, blocking her view of Relena. He didn't bother to look at her. "I'll handle Relena."

Relena had come close enough to hear her name. She smiled, arm and leg still in a cast. "You're safe, Heero."

"Hello? Forget about us?" Kirin growled. She stayed behind Heero's outstretched arm. He knew her too well. "Thanks for almost getting us killed, Peacecraft. Good to know you think about our safety."

"I didn't intend for any of you to get hurt." she tried to implore Heero. "I thought I was doing the right thing."

"The right thing is to keep your mouth shut to a man like Lee Ikuza!" Kirin growled. "For your information, he's my uncle and he's a crazy bastard! The next time you feel you are doing the 'right thing,' just imagine what he'll do to Heero! He's managed to impale me and God knows what he's planned for every one else!"

Just the thought of being impaled made Relena's face lose color. Kirin had been impaled? The elegant Lee Ikuza, a man whom she spoke to over the phone, was capable of such violence? Then she thought of Heero, possibly impaled as well and probably worse. She shuddered. "I'm truly sorry."

"We don't want your apology, Peacecraft." Kirin said coldly. "We just want to be left alone. Could you get that idea through your hard-head to honor that?"

Relena had the gall to challenge Kirin. "Who do you think you are? I have just as many rights of being here than you. All you are is some defunct guinea pig."

This time Heero was the one who spoke, eyes hardened and fist clenched. He spoke lowly and dangerously. "Don't you ever talk about Kirin like that again, Relena. That is the only warning I'm giving you."

Relena's eyes widened at the sheer tone in his voice. Oh, she was used to his monotone voice, but he actually seemed to have difficulty restraining himself. If she had said anything more insulting, he probably would have killed her without another conscious thought. She regarded Heero closely, watching his body move protectively in front of Kirin. Kirin, on the other hand, had a mass of Heero's green tank top curled in her fist, obviously holding him back.

Heero's jaw clenched as he spaced out his next words. "From this point on, you better listen carefully, Relena. I'm not in any mood or position to repeat myself more than once. Stay away from us if you don't want to get caught in the cross-fire. This isn't just another public debate for peace or one of you patented speeches on Pacifism. This is a war and we intend to see it through. You get in our way and I won't hesitate in permanently removing you from existence. Is that clear?"

Relena's head moved up and down once. A cold shiver ran up her spine. The ruthlessness and conviction in his voice made her heart shatter. She had tried once to prove to Heero that there was more than battles and war and violence. She had failed miserably and now, a fight to the finish battle would probably end everything for Heero and the other pilots. "Understood."

Heero moved aside, pushing Kirin against his back. The others followed suit and watched with solemn faces as Relena was wheeled towards a ship that was chartered especially for her. 

"Smooth move, bro." Yume beamed. She turned to Kirin. "So what now? And don't tell me we're going to wait."

Kirin shook her head, waving a hand at the piles of paperwork. "Poa's got the parts and the materials. I've got the plans. We can't do anything else but wait."

[Space Port] 9:43 p.m.

Poa Finnegan pushed the wire frame glasses higher up the bridge of her nose. Just to annoy Kirin, she was going to waltz into the space port a few minutes late. Actually, she was seven hours late. She'd just have to explain to the impatient girl that getting several dozen storage facilities to open for a special delivery and obtaining every available big rig at the last minute was a lot harder than it seemed. She practically had to hire bums off the street just to drive the damn trucks as well as local teens to come along for the ride to pack-up the materials and unload them once they arrived at their destination. Kirin would have to understand, it wasn't like the old times with UPS or federal express or even one-hour shipping. This was the real world.

Poa was one of prestigious and regarded mercenaries in New Ireland, selling services to the highest bidder and even incorporating her own mercenary business. She had nothing but the best for herself and for those she kept close to her. Kirin Shido was one of those people who she kept a close eye on. 

To Poa, Kirin was one of the best investments she had. Sure, they were friends, when the occasion called for it, but aside from that, they were business partners. Poa had always tried to dig under that tough demeanor that made up Kirin Shido, but always came across Kirin's two associates, Yume Okinawa and Shin Kin'Youbi.

Upon hearing of Kirin's escapades on earth and in space, Poa had a distinct feeling she'd be meeting with Kirin again. It had been almost a year since she heard from the General and already she was getting bored. Her business as a secret mercenary agency was getting a little strained. Most of her clients couldn't pay her people all at once, instead, tried paying in intervals or not paying at all which resulted in execution. Her people were beginning to complain and some have even gone rogue. At least that was a highlight. In those cases that her people had gone haywire, she had taken it upon herself to execute them personally. She couldn't get attached-wouldn't. She was in a dirty business where you had to watch your own back.

Her green eyes adjusted slightly when her limo pulled into a darkened port. She didn't bother looking out, knowing that this was Kirin's way of welcoming her. Darkness. It didn't help that a few hours ago, twilight had settled and she had to actually coax the driver that there was a space port in Sank. Apparently he had never been in Sank before.

She twirled a strand of her hair between her fingers, a smile curving at her lips. She had disbanded her business, distributed the money to her people, and said good-bye to all of them. Sitting in a mansion in New Ireland, leisurely watching the world pass her by, she realized peace and quiet wasn't her ideal lifestyle. With Kirin, all the money she had now was nothing compared to the excitement of anticipation, the rush of adrenaline, and the power of what you knew that differed from enemies. Intelligence, power, and survival. She missed those things.

The limo came to a gradual slow. She could hear faint voices all around and waited, wanting to make a dramatic entrance. As quickly as she decided to make a grand entrance, the lights in the port came to life, illuminating a large space ship and the group who stood to its right, apparently waiting for her arrival. Then the door closest to her opened and a young man with wayward hair offered his hand. She saw a glint of silver and she knew this man must have been one of Kirin's people. She took the hand, surprised of the strong grip, and even more surprised of his tall demeanor. From what she could tell, he had green eyes-er...eye. She nodded at the man. "Thank you."

The whimsical and heavily accented Irish lilt caught Kirin's attention. Instead of being annoyed-she was more likely pissed off, she managed her own smile and walked towards Poa. She took up the younger girl's stature and shook her head. 

Poa wore a necklace of an old Celtic heritage, a shield, that meant something along the lines of protection. A black shirt that centered around a dark fairy, faded blue jeans, and dark shoes. As usual, her hair was pulled back in a tie, glasses that always slid further down her nose, and a primal wristwatch. She crossed her arms, wondering why Kirin was giving her the 'look.'

"First you're late then you have the gall to come in here looking like that. Poa, you have all that money and you don't even spend it to buy some new clothes or a digital watch or even to get yourself a haircut." She didn't mean any of that as an insult. She was being playful. "What am I going to do with you?"

"First, you could tell me why I had to bring all of your stuff out of storage. It's been a year without a word from you and then you call me as if we've been friends for years." Poa replied. "I want an explanation then I'll see what you can do with me."

Kirin let out a soft laugh. "All right, you got me. For the past year I've been busy, you know, planning on escaping ONI. Well, just about a week ago, my plan finally went into action, but with the less than satisfactory results. In a nutshell, I'm out of ONI, Lee's gone mental-not that he isn't already, and we're going to war. We need Gundams, Riot, Sentinel, and Kamikaze suits, and you have all of my stuff."

Poa considered the prospects of joining Kirin's little group. There were seven that she couldn't identify. If she heard names, then she could maybe found some common ground. "On one condition."

"What?" Kirin completely missed what Poa was getting at. "What are you talking about?"

"Your stuff is with me, right?" At Kirin's nod, Poa continued. "I'll give back your things on one condition."

"Oh." Kirin weighed the prospects of Poa joining her little group. It was, after all, on her agenda of things to do. Mark and Heero were already compliant in helping her out and Poa would add in to the mix. Thinking a little ahead of herself, when the Gundams were finished, Zero and Poa would hold down the fort while Ayako was off doing another mission. "One condition."

"One." Poa repeated. "It's been awhile since I've seen any action. My group broke apart a few months ago and to be frank, I'm bored. I want some part of this, I don't care if you don't mention my name or pay me. I'm in it for the fun."

"Another one bites the dust." Kirin murmured. "I have one condition, too. You have to follow my orders." She glanced at Heero. The look on his face made her take back her last statement. "Our orders. Mine and Heero's. I'm in charge of production here and he'll be in charge of the mission objectives."

A loud groan escaped Duo. "Why Heero? He's going to get us all killed!"

"What's wrong with that?" Heero demanded. He obviously didn't think getting killed for a mission was a big deal.

"You guys fight amongst yourselves." said Kirin. She turned to Poa again. "I agree to your terms if you agree to mine."

"Deal." Poa and Kirin shook hands. "There are several more rigs coming later tonight. These were as many as I could get today."

Five rigs, one behind the other, stood in a line sticking out of the space port entrance. There were several workers standing around the rigs, waiting for their next orders.

"Quatre," Kirin turned to the blonde Arab. "Make copies of all locations of production. Give a set to Poa and distribute the others to everyone else. I'll be going to the first location with two of the rigs." She looked at Poa. "You'll have to send the other rigs to two other locations. The last of the rigs will remain here for the rest of the night. Early tomorrow morning we're moving out and starting the production of the suits."


	4. The First Battle

Day 5- 4:45 a.m.

It was still too early to do anything. The workers at the port were still asleep, the pilots, the captain, and the mercenaries were all getting much-needed rest. Everything was already set-up, the factories, the rigs, the materials. Production would begin soon, in two hours, and within a month or so, they'd have a suitable army.

Wufei managed to convince Sally Po, a member of the Preventers to aide in their cause. At around seven, they'd come in full force with Aries, Leos, and Cancer suits. It just wasn't Sank's war. It was the whole world. Not World War Three, but a war of between the maniacal genius and his niece. He didn't really want to rule the world. He just wanted it because it was there. He had purpose for creating the war. He was creating a war because he could and because he thought he would win. Good luck.

Kirin sat in the dark, gazing up at the lightening sky through a window in the port. In an hour it would be light enough for her to begin warming up the computers. In another hour, she'd wake-up her production team and start the first phase of her operation. She couldn't sleep at all, so she sat, star gazing, and hoping when all this was over, she'd finally get a good night's rest and have a nice life with her significant other and her amazing friends.

As a safety precaution, she had already called in her Gundam. She was grateful for having the Gundam respond to her remote activation, but almost swore when she remembered she still needed to repair it. She didn't know if it would actually come to her. Low and behold, five torturous minutes later, Gundam Archangel was landing outside the port, shining like its namesake and fully repaired. She smiled at the thought of Heero fixing her Gundam for her. She'd give him a kiss later. She couldn't have been more happier when Morning Star and Dragon Slayer landed beside Archangel, also shining and repaired. Now that one aspect of her job was finished, the suits and dolls were next on her list.

Kirin moved silently through the port, watching not to step on the people that littered the floor. It had been awhile, too long for her, since she had sat in the cockpit of Archangel. She had been on earth for such a long time that she almost believed that she'd forgot how to pilot the magnificent machine. 

She found the manual switch to the cockpit and used the wire to bring herself up. She hung just out of the reach of the open cockpit, gazing into her seat. Archangel was built from scratch, from blueprints that appeared in her mind like a prophecy. At sixteen, she began creating life-size weapons that she eventually created for her Gundam. She was proud of her creation. Meeting Yume and Shin, she proved that she was one of the rare and few who could create Gundams. Eventually this information leaked out and Lee- more so the Elders of White Lotus- had demanded she create more for the Elite. She did, of course, but not without a little insurance. She refrained from putting in the ZERO system and in extreme cases, there was a little code that would shut down the system leaving the Gundam utterly useless. Added just because she was feeling mean.

She slid into the seat, sighing as everything around her brought back memories. Hands felt across buttons and switches, brushed against the hand controls. And just because the Gundam belonged to her, she started up the system, waiting for her screens to come on and the Gundam to come to life.

As soon as her radar flashed to life, several red blips bombarded the center of the surface. Red blips meant air and ground enemies, yellow blips meant underwater enemies, white was her and the other Gundams' position, blue was battleships, and orange meant flying projectiles. Six large, red blips were coming from the northeast. Three blue blips came from the opposite direction and yellow blips littered the lower portion of her screen, closer to the port. Coming quickly behind the six blips were smaller red dots, too many for her to count on her screen. 

"Shit!" Kirin swore, closing up her cockpit. She secured herself into the seat and pulled up the hand controls and console closer to her body. She pressed a sequence of buttons and swore again when the screen just above her head remained blank. "Doesn't anyone wake up in the morning and take a piss?"

The red blips and the sounds resonating from them began increasingly louder and closer to her position. Kirin pulled up another screen and had an outside view. She spotted six Gundams, one which was headed by a maroon and gray mobile suit. Gundam Centaur. Mike Lane's Gundam. What seemed to be a dark cloud was none other than a swarm of Aries, Leos, and Virgo's, dolls more likely, each setting the space port in their sights. The six Gundams split, only Centaur heading straight for Archangel.

"I'm coming for you, you little bitch!" Mike screamed over the link.

"Come and get me, asshole!"

Archangel and Centaur met in a flash of green and a spray of sand and water. The grappled for a moment, the sound of metal scraping against metal. There were deep indentations in the sand now, the crash of waves filling up craters. The scene was too surreal to be witnessed so early in the morning. Archangel pushed forward, kicking up sand in the process while igniting its beam saber. 

A screen filled with Mike's face; contorted in anger and red from screaming. "Where's Yume and Shin?" He still harbored cuts and bruises from Kirin's onslaught. "You never fight without them."

To prove his point, Gundams Musca, Cerberus, Lacerta, Cetus, and Dorado surrounded the lone Archangel Gundam. Each one had centered on a point on Archangel to strike and dispatch. The only sound came from Archangel's beam saber and the release of steam from the fuel-injected shocks.

Kirin brought up the five Gundams on separate screens. She knew every nook and cranny that made up those Gundams. She'd have to time everything perfectly in order for her to make a clean getaway into the air. If she fought too close to the port, who knew what would happen in the aftereffects of the explosions. She eyed the red button by her right hand. She needed a small distraction in order to make a clean jump. That button was her only chance.

"Bring the bitch to her knees." Mike said lowly. "I'm going to make her pay for what she did to us."

"Try it." Kirin slammed on the red button, shooting backwards into her seat, bracing for the sudden flight.

Archangel bent over, the covering on its back opened, exposing two narrow crevices which harbored iridescent wings. In actuality, they were really heat panels, forged and enforced by Neo-Titanium. The wings unfurled from the back and spread eagle-wide, catching the minute rays of the pre-dawn sky. It shimmered and glowed with gathering energy, ready to set off a wave of heat.

"I know that attack, Shido." Mike laughed. "You can't scare me with that."

"Who said anything about scaring you?" Kirin pulled the hand controls in opposite direction, making the Gundam jump well over the head of Gundam Centaur. Aside from acting as heat panels, Archangel's wings also acted as gliders in space and sub-thrusters for a few extra feet of jump. It landed hard behind Centaur, connected its elbow hard into the back of the Gundams head and flew forward, giving enough distance to lure the other Gundams to her. 

"Low blow, Shido." said Brad. "You never one for doing something so dirty."

"Kiss my ass, Brad." Kirin retorted.

Archangel shot its arm outwards, grabbing Lacerta by the head. Archangel lifted the other Gundam from the ground and tossed it over its shoulder as if it were a rag doll. Instead of meeting the challenge from the other Gundams she decided to go after each Gundam, one by one. Archangel spun on its heel and struck hard into the mid-section of Brad's Gundam. The flared beam saber came close to Lacerta's neck.

"Kirin, can't we talk about this?" Brad asked, frantic. "You and I could always talk."

"Screw talking." Kirin said lowly. One screen was fixated on Dragon Slayer and Morning Star. Even with all the noise she was making, Yume and Shin still hadn't woken up. Not to mention that the port was still as dark as a closet. Kirin turned back to Brad. "Screw you."

Archangel shoved the saber into one of Lacerta's arms, moving the saber slowly towards the cockpit. Lacerta thrashed, while inside Brad was screaming for back-up. A lucky shot caught Archangel off guard, pushing the silver Gundam into the deep depths of the water.

"Good shot, Brad." said Alan. "We attack her all at once. Do not let her get up."

"Cut off the arms and limbs first. I want the final blow." Mike said lowly. "She's mine, I want her."

Archangel floundered for a few quick seconds, sending a distress call to the space port. The radar warned its pilot that Cancers were at least three leagues away. They were enclosing fast and would probably be on her within five minutes. Above the Gundam, the Aries, Leo's, and Virgo's were beginning to cluster and ready to dive-bomb the port. The radar beeped again, six large red blips surrounding her position.

"Shit, shit, shit." Kirin played with a little switch that controlled Archangel's wings. If she used the heat-shorter, everything underwater would surely be boiled to death. She decided that sticking to her main weapons would work for the best. She pressed a switch that brought the wings back into Archangel's back and switched her Gundam to battle mode. 

Cerberus dropped above her, floating down like a piece of paper. Two buster rifles were mounted on each arm, each pointed directly at her. White energy particles gathered at the barrel, one aiming at the head, the other at the section where the cockpit was positioned. One shot was too slow that Archangel simply moved its head. The other shot got Archangel in the arm, turning the Gundam to face two Gundams she hadn't had the chance to fully look-over. Truthfully, they were faulty, not even complete.

Cetus and Dorado crashed into Archangel, pinning the Gundam between their bodies. Cetus' shoulder cannons gathered power, setting itself right before Archangel's head. Dorado snaked its arms around Archangel's, holding it in place. Its heat-shorters, located on its hands, began to emit an intense heat that began smothering Kirin's cockpit.

"I've got her!" cried Geneva. "Byron, disable her system!"

Byron, piloting Gundam Musca, shot out several spiked mines which attached itself to the front of Archangel's chest plate. Dorado and Cetus moved away just as a series of explosions riddled Archangel, sending the Gundam to the bottom of the sea. Its beam saber floating after it, Archangel remained still, inside, Kirin still sending out distress signals.

"Come on, come on!" Kirin began to bang on her console. She glanced at the clock. "It's already five! Come on!" She spotted Lacerta descending on top of Archangel with Centaur beside it. They stood on either side, looking down on Archangel's fallen form.

"I'll grant you one good hit and the finale goes to me." Mike said to Brad. "Do your worst, Brad."

Lacerta powered up its shoulder cannons, leaning close to create the most damage. The Gundam seemed to be smiling, hovering over Archangel like a demented murderer. "I regret in destroying your Gundam, Kirin. It's a magnificent machine. Too bad."

Kirin braced herself for the barrage of rapid shots coming from Lacerta's cannons. She felt her head slam into the back of her seat, her vision blurred and the slur of profanities melted into a growl of defiance. Archangel accepted each shot willingly, knowing that though it was a powerful Gundam, even against six it could not escape destruction.

The blank screen that Kirin had kept open finally flickered to life and Quatre's face peered down at Kirin. Apparently he had just woken up. His eyes were faintly red from an uncomfortable sleep. "Kirin! Are you all right? Where are you?"

"Bottom...of the..." Kirin gasped. Brad was charging up for one more wave. Apparently Mike wanted her weak enough so that he could deliver the devastating blow to end hers and Archangel's life. "Sea..." She tried to remember the names of her friends. The two that piloted the other Gundams. "Yume. Shin..."

Quatre began screaming to the others behind him. The lights came on and absolute chaos ensued. Yume and Shin appeared on the screen, each one screaming questions at her.

"Get...to your...Gundams." Kirin shut her eyes and rubbed her head. "Now. The Elite here. Aries...Leo's....Virgo's."

"Shit!" Shin screamed. "We don't have our Gundams here! They're not even repaired!"

"Heero-" another wave of rapid shots hit her. This time she could feel each individual shot. Her chest armor wasn't going to last another round, for that matter, a long-lasting battle with Mike's Centaur.

"Heero!" Yume screamed. She stepped aside and began barking out orders to the workers who seemed to be running around scared like little children.

"Kirin." Heero's eyes turned a deeper shade of blue. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Gundams. Outside." Kirin finished. She gazed at Lacerta who looked as if dusting off its hands. Centaur took position and ignited its lance. "Get ready for battle!"

Archangel managed to move a fraction of a second before being impaled by Centaur's lance. It reached for its saber, gripping it as if it would turn on the pilot. Lance and saber met again in a faint glow of green. The water was warming due to the intense heat both weapons were giving off. 

"Die already!" Mike screamed. 

With a dirty punch to the head, Archangel faltered for a split second, giving Centaur enough time to strike close to the cockpit. It lifted Archangel, more of the weapon sliding into the Gundam Archangel like a warm knife cutting into butter. Archangel struggled, legs kicking and arms straining to reach Centaur's head. Centaur pushed Archangel towards an underwater mountain, sticking it to the side like a pin cushion. 

"Just how I've always wanted you." Mike said softly. "A pin-up girl for me to look at and admire. When you left, I was really sad. I had no one to play with and no one to love. But what you did to me a few days ago really hurt me. I'm going to make sure that you feel what I felt when you dragged your nails across my face, how you wrapped that wire around my neck so slowly that every movement I made felt as if it was the last sensation I'd ever feel in my life. I'm going to make you realize the pain you put me through when you took away my manhood."

Kirin smiled through a transitioning haze. "I was doing you a favor. You never really used it with anyone else but yourself, so I saved you the trouble of going through disappointment. Besides, I would die first before there was a world full of little Mike's. In fact, 'little' is the understatement of the year."

"You little bitch. I'm going to kill you once and for all!"

Kirin's screens turned yellow, shutting down and booting up with the coveted ZERO system. Readings began scrolling on her screens, the radar was emitting high beeps and clicks, warning her of the oncoming danger. Scenarios ran through her mind: the destruction of Gundam Centaur, total annihilation to the piloted Cancers, the legions of Leo's, Virgo's, and Aries turned to dust. The space port would be barely left standing, the production workers would be caught in the aftermath, and chaos, chaos, chaos.

"Kirin?" It was Quatre again. The others were huddled around the port console, watching Kirin's every move. "What happened, you blacked out for a moment."

A smile played over Kirin's lips. She leaned forward in her seat, eyes obstructed by her silver hair. She petted the screen lovingly, purring in a quite whisper. "Don't worry about me. I have everything under control."

Archangel reached for the lance and pulled it out of its chest cavity slowly. It gazed at the weapon for a brief moment before raising its head and opening its jaw. Never before had it happened previously, but before Centaur could react, Archangel's jaw snapped shut, breaking the beam lance and leaving nothing but floating particles of metal and thermal radiation. Once green and now red, Archangel's eye flickered and remained fixated on Centaur. Its wings unfurled form its back and began to gather energy, not even caring that the marine life was going to die. It stepped forward, keeping Centaur in its sights. On its radar, two white blips rushed towards Archangel where the red blips began to gather.

"What the hell is going on?" Mike demanded. He had three primary weapons left. It was Kirin's fault that he didn't have any more weapons. He could have had her dead with a few rounds from his gattling gun. All that was left was his head cannon, arm cannon, and sword. He took a chance with his beam sword and ignited the weapon. "I don't care what Lee says, I'm going to end this all now."

"Try it." Kirin dared him. She licked her lips and gripped the hand controls in a white-knuckle grasp. "I'm going to enjoy killing you."

Centaur shoved its beam sword into the leg of Archangel. Without faltering, Archangel used its free leg and jerked hard against Centaur's shoulder, dislodging the massive limb from its joint. Wires began sparking, the Gundam lurched and jerked. The remaining enemy Gundams made a half-circle behind Centaur while Dragon Slayer and Morning Star took Archangel's back.

"Kirin, you ok?" Shin asked. She stared at the screen which showed Kirin laughing maniacally. "Damn it. We won't be able to reach her anymore. Not until this is over."

"She's gone, isn't she?" Yume sighed regretfully. She popped her neck and her fingers and issued a series of buttons. "I got the ones to the right, Shin. You get Alan and Brad."

"I don't see why we can't get the ones closest to us." Shin replied, absently.

"We're trying to confuse them. We don't want to make it too easy for them. Besides, Kirin's got Mike and Byron. "Six of them, three of us. Break them in pairs." Yume replied. 

"Right."

Slayer jumped backwards, giving space between itself and Archangel. It charged over Morning Star's head, just as Shin accelerated forward to the left. Archangel stood still, even as its partner's met with their enemies. 

Archangel released the charge on its wings. It flashed forward, catching Centaur and Musca squarely in the chest. Archangel's beam-arrow was primed and ready, shooting short blasts of green energy, each one centered in the cockpit region. Along the way, Archangel managed to pick up its saber and began to strike at the suddenly immobile Gundams. Flashes of green flickered as she tore into metal and wire, opening a hole appearing just at the hip region of Mike's Gundam. Musca regained some mobility and tried using its saber to fend off Archangel.

With one hand striking at Centaur's weak spot, Archangel's other hand reached for its buster rifle. Even as the buster rifled charged, Musca's pilot was stupid enough to think that versus the rifle, a saber was able to withstand such a force. It still came forward, still attending to its fallen comrade. The barrel of the rifle glowed white-hot and released a single fat beam of energy directly hitting the cockpit. Musca literally flew through the water, slammed hard into the underwater mountain and nearly shattered. Musca's head cracked, its arms flailed uselessly, its legs stiffened, a gaping hole to where the cockpit should have been. There was a small figure floating to the surface, face down with a small ribbon of red floating after it. After a few seconds, Musca exploded in a brilliant flash, causing the earth to tremble at its passing.

Archangel's gun-arm turned to Centaur who began backing away. "What about you, Mike? You ready to be put down like a dog?"

"Fuck you, Shido." And like the coward he was, he shot at Archangel with its arm cannon. He escaped, leaving the rest of his comrades behind, not caring that they would think him pathetic and weak. What didn't kill him would make him stronger. He'd come to fight another day.

Archangel watched as Centaur shot out of the water. And because she didn't care, Archangel raised its gun-arm into Centaur's passing, and charged it to its full capacity. After a few seconds, the rifle let out another steady stream of power. She could barely make what was above her, but the explosions were enough to encourage a smile upon the pilot's face. Inside, Kirin was laughing as if it were the greatest comedy she had ever seen. She turned back to the other battles in the water. No, she wouldn't help. There was a whole battalion that she needed to massacre. She'd might as well respect their wishes.

Archangel uncovered its wings once more and shot upwards, forgetting about the current repairs it desperately needed. It shot out of the water and floated high above the sea, the pilot's eyes staring down at the gathering fleet. Yes, a massacre was in place.

Slayer watched Archangel leave the underwater battlefield. Yume turned back to the two women that were an enigma to her. She remembered Kirin mentioning two Gundams that she hadn't yet inspected. As for the other two, she knew Shin could handle them, especially if one was her old boyfriend. Slayer reached for a large weapon from its back, and like its design, hung by a thick wire at its side like a yo-yo. Inside the other cockpits, she could hear laughing. "Oh, think this is a joke, eh?"

Slayer began to swing the large yo-yo around its head, creating a whirlpool of water. Cetus and Dorado continued to watch, still entertained by the fact that the Gundam was swinging a Gundam-sized child's toy. In the midst of the yo-yo spinning, Yume pressed a button that released several diamond tipped curved spikes on her secret weapon. She thanked Kirin for the present and made sure she'd put it to good use. With the yo-yo still in motion, Slayer swung it closer to Cetus who stood like an idiot. The spikes hit Cetus on the side of its head, knocking the Gundam clear across the water. The spinning yo-yo faltered then moved the opposite way, striking Dorado. Now that the two were separated, she'd get some work done. 

Placing the yo-yo back onto Slayer, it advanced to Cetus who was barely aware of what had happened. Slayer ignited its three-branched thermal weapon and spun it quickly in its hands. It raced towards Cetus and pinned it to the ground, letting loose a series of shots to Cetus' head. Slayer then released several homing missiles to Dorado who thought it could sneak up on it while it was busy with Cetus. 

Cetus was still fidgeting under Slayer's weapon but managed a series of bullets to knock Slayer back a few feet. Slayer spun the thermal in its hands and began jabbing hard at Cetus' midsection. Slayer managed to stick it hard into Cetus' gut and lift it unceremoniously into the air. Swinging towards Dorado, the two Gundams smashed into each other with a hard enough boom that had the ocean floor resounding. Slayer began powering up its shoulder cannons, aimed directing for the head of both Gundams. One thing she learned was that if she disabled the head first, the screens in the cockpit would blank. Everyone knew that if you had to fight an enemy, you had to see it first.

Slayer let fly two beams onto the heads of Cetus and Dorado. Both Gundams flung its head back as if sucker-punched and flew, together, against the side of the mountain. Wires exposed in the head flickered and flashed. Cetus and Dorado remained still even as Slayer came forward, homing missiles armed and ready. 

"Yume."

Distracted, Yume turned to the screen closest to her. "What, Heero? I'm almost done here."

"Kirin needs your help on the surface. As soon as you and Shin are done down there, attend to Kirin. She's losing blood." 

"I'll be up in a minute." Yume grinned, teeth bared. She eyed Cetus and Dorado, both were as blind as bats. She pushed a button near one of her manual controls and braced for the ride.

Slayer shifted its weight and removed the yo-yo from its back once again. Glowing with energy, the blades protruded farther from its cover, sparkling with a dangerous light. Like before, Slayer began to spin the yo-yo wide overhead until it became a blur of silver and green energy. Timing it perfectly, Slayer released the hold of the yo-yo which landed between Cetus and Dorado. A white flash emitted from the yo-yo, releasing the charge as well as silver spikes shooting out to destroy the Gundams.

Above surface, a geyser of water shot through from the water, bringing Cetus and Dorado up in the torrent. They disabled and nearly destroyed Gundams landed hard on the beach, arms and limbs dislodged, wires sparkling, and system in total shutdown.

Slayer floated above surface for a moment, waiting for the Gundams to arise again. Yume didn't mind using her weapon's special again. It would just mean her Gundam would have to charge for a week or so. When both Gundams didn't respond to Slayer's thermal staff prodding, it turned, going airborne.

Half a mile down, Archangel was in a circle of death. However, Kirin, in her current state of mind, saw the odds as good. She'd use anything and everything in her disposal to rid of the battalion of ships and dolls. Yume had to check her energy gauge on her yo-yo to make sure that it had enough to help out her friend. This was as much use as the yo-yo had gotten in awhile. She was glad Kirin had finally agreed to add it to her weapon list. Now, it was point break. If her yo-yo survived the next battle, she just might ask Kirin for another one and discard her thermal staff.

Morning Star was flung hard into the side of the mountain. Just minutes ago, herself, Alan, and Brad were underwater. Somehow they had gotten out of the water and onto the beach. The space port was only meters away and one wrong attack could have the people end up in a watery grave. Shin tried to judge distance between herself and the port. Her weapon's special, when she had clearance, would disable anything within a mile radius and destroy anything in between. She had to make sure that destroying her friends wasn't a part of it.

Alan, Shin's old boyfriend, was stalking towards her with Cerberus. Brad was coming up from behind, Lacerta's left arm extended and beam tail gleaming in the early rays of the sun. They moved as one unit, hitting her from both sides. Cerberus unhooked one of its buster rifles from its back and aimed at Star's head. Lacerta let fly several projectiles which hit Star at all directions. Cerberus came forward again, buster rifle charged and ready. Alan didn't care for the woman inside the cockpit. Like Mike, he only wanted a warm body.

Star turned in time just as Cerberus let out a wave of energy. Just as Star fell, it's chest cannon began to charge. At the same time, Star let loose a round of bullets at Lacerta while trying to get back to its feet. With Lacerta at bay and Cerberus charging, Star drew its S-shaped double-sided scythe and swiped at Cerberus who ducked in time. With Cerberus on low, Star let out the charge on its chest, blasting Alan back into the water. With only Brad, she knew she could take him, no problem.

Lacerta shifted and rushed past Star, tail failing and burning like trail of fire. Star sidestepped, grabbing at the base of the tail. With concentrated hit to the back, Star had purposely hit the self-destruct button. Lacerta thrashed again like a wild animal, shooting its shoulder cannons at Star's feet.

Star shot several missiles at Cerberus who emerged from the water and was too close for comfort. Throwing Lacerta like a rag doll into Cerberus, Star jumped into the air and activated its thrusters. It was airborne for a moment before jumping away from the presence of the space port. Further out to sea, Shin could see Archangel and Dragon Slayer fighting the battalion. She couldn't see the other enemy Gundams, but knew that Kirin had at least gotten one of them.

Cerberus and Lacerta were tangled in one another, Lacerta's Gundam still emitting a high frequency of warning. Cerberus pushed at Lacerta and directed itself directly at Morning Star. Buster rifle and scythe met in a flash of silver. Cerberus powered up its rifle while Star's scythe burned too close to home near Cerberus' cockpit. They stayed close until Star pulled back, just as Lacerta tried an attack from behind. 

"Brad, you idiot! I had her!" Alan screamed. Sweat poured off his forehead as he maneuvered the manual controls to try and parry Star's scythe. She had gotten three good hits and no more. He was going to blast the bitch to the ends of the earth.

"I had an open shot!" Brad replied. "It doesn't work if we keep pissing on each other. In order for us to get her, we have to work as one, Alan!"

"Fine!" With that accentuated, Cerberus lurched forward and pinned Star's arms at its side. "Attack her now!"

Lacerta shot forward, shoulder cannons flaring. The thermal tail flailed after it, striking across Star's abdomen. Cerberus turned and firmly planted Star into the sand, handing Lacerta its buster rifle.

"Charge it and shoot! Just make sure you don't hit me, Brad!" Alan had moved the Gundam a little ways to give Brad a clear shot to the back of Star's head. With the head disable, the rest of the body would blow.

Lacerta looked awkward with Cerberus' black buster rifle. Nonetheless, the rifle began to charge, white particles gathering at the barrel. Star began to shift under Cerberus, while inside Shin was screaming.

"They're gonna finish me off!" Shin screamed at the screens. "Yume! Kirin!"

"Good-bye, Shin." Alan whispered. "It was fun while it lasted."

Star's arms were neatly pinned at its sides, back exposed and vulnerable. It shifted slightly to look face to face with Alan's buster rifle. It struggled harder, trying to free its arms and reach its scythe. "Damn it! Someone, help!"

The charge of the buster rifle hit close to Star's head. Turning, both Gundams looked to Lacerta who was caught in a strangle hold by Archangel. Archangel lifted Lacerta from its feet and tossed it into the ocean with Slayer standing by.

Cerberus rose and met Archangel's next attack, shoving the silver Gundam into the water. Archangel grabbed at Cerberus' arms and jerked, ripping the limps from its sockets. Cerberus, knowing that it could no longer fight, turned to leave.

"Brad, let's go! We've lost this battle!" Alan began swearing even as Star got to its feet with Archangel standing like a demon, with red eyes, and its wings unfurled. "Brad!"

Lacerta's head was floating on the surface of the ocean. Slayer stood to Archangel's left, the spikes on its massive yo-yo receding into its cover. The three Gundams stood as one, staring down at Cerberus who had nothing else but to self-destruct.

"Leave while you still can." Shin said softly. "Kirin won't be so merciful next time."

Cerberus let out a strangled howl and shot up into the air. It sped across the ocean and passed the broken battalions. Their first real battle in a few months and they were beaten horribly by the Triad. When Lee found out, heads would be rolling, aside from Lacerta's.

Shin tuned to Kirin and Yume's frequency's. "Hey, you guys okay?"

"I'm good." said Yume. "What about you, Shin? Kirin?"

"A little freaked." Shin admitted. "I thought they had me. Thanks, Kirin."

Kirin was quiet. She sat in her cockpit, blood seeping over her eyebrow. There was a wound on her mouth when her teeth had clamped down. During the battle with the battalion, she had been tossed around like a puppet on strings. The damn legions of Aries, Leos, and Virgos had reached a high of five hundred each. There was more coming, but judging how the battle was weighing, Lee must have called back the reserves. 

If Kirin was right, she knew that Lee would have Mike's head for going into battle without his permission. That little glimmer of rebelliousness would get Mike into more trouble than trying to jack-off with something he no longer has. 

A smile appeared on Kirin's face. The aftereffects of the ZERO system were quickly fading. A laugh emerged from Kirin's throat and she threw her head back and laughed as maniacally and demonically as she could. She continued laughing even as her cockpit opened and Yume and Shin stared at her with worried eyes.

"Kirin, come, let's get back to the port. Everyone's waiting for us." Shin pulled at Kirin's right arm while Yume tugged at her left. "Come on, Kirin. That's enough. The battle's over."

Kirin slid from her seat and into the arms of her friends. Still hysterical and sliding into shock, Kirin nuzzled her head against Yume and Shin. "The battle would never be over until the bastard dies."

"Let's get in inside. She's lost a lot of blood." Shin began to lift Kirin onto her shoulders.

"That's never stopped her before." Yume murmured. "Heero will be pissed he missed all the fun."

"He'll be even more upset if Kirin is bleeding to death."

With much difficulty, Shin and Yume managed to get Kirin down in one piece. Even as they stood for a moment, gazing at the droplets of blood in the sand, a jeep filled to the rim with people sped towards them.

"Shin! Yume! Kirin!" Quatre called, jumping before the jeep could stop. "Are you all right?"

"We're fine." replied Shin. She let Kirin slide to the sand and waved a hand at her. "Except Kirin. She's a bit bloodied and bruised."

Trowa slid out of the passenger's seat. "There's a medic and a transport for the Gundams coming. Heero's with them."

Yume helped Kirin prop herself against Archangel's foot. "Send out a ship towards the northwest section of the ocean. There should be some parts there that we can salvage."

"I'll go." said Duo, standing on one of the seats on the jeep. "I'm pretty good at salvaging parts."

"Take someone with you." said Quatre. "For precaution."

Wufei gazed at the battle marks on all three Gundams. "If I had known that we would have been attacked so early in the morning, I would have called for the Preventers sooner."

"You didn't know." said Shin. "Except Kirin. I wish we could have woken up the first time."

Zero sat in the driver's seat of the jeep. "That was exciting, though I wish I knew what Kirin meant by she had everything under control. If she did have everything under control, why is she the one all busted up?"

"You try fighting against six." said Wufei. "Those Gundams were dishonorable. I'm disappointed Shido didn't finish them all off."

"Hey," said Shin. "We were there, too, remember?"

Yume didn't comment that Shin was almost destroyed. Kirin, once again, had saved her. Shin was a good pilot, more so for support, but wasn't as good as herself and Kirin who battled each other almost everyday on the Forgotten Colony.

The sirens of the ambulance became louder as they neared. Each one could tell that Heero was driving with Poa driving one of the transport trucks. Ayako was sitting beside her in the passenger's seat while Mark drove the second and one of Zero's pirates drove the third.

Yume looked up as Heero and several personnel emerged from the ambulance. "Well, the gangs all here."

"How is she?" Heero asked, as he passed Yume and kneeled next to Kirin.

"Gee, I'm fine, bro. Thank you for asking. Shin's okay, too. We're not hurt at all. Oh, and Kirin's lost a lot of blood and is probably going into shock. But I suppose you were so worried about me that you could look at Kirin later." Yume crossed her arms even as Heero lifted Kirin into his arms and glared at her. "Don't mind me, I'm just a poor second to her."

"I don't see you doubled over in pain or slumped on your side." Heero snapped. "When that happens, I'll ask."

Yume would have flipped Heero off, just because she'd feel better, but knew that Heero hadn't gotten into the 'brother ideology' in his mind yet. She'd let it pass. For now.

Heero place Kirin on a stretcher and watched grimly as the medical technicians began to clean up the blood and bandage wounds. Most of Kirin's injuries were at the head with a cut above her right eyebrow, one at the corner of her mouth, and a massive blow to the back of the head. She must have been shaken like a rattle. He could see the blood staining the back of her suit and some deep scratches on her arm. How did she get those? He ripped at the fabric and found there were several long scratches from her elbow to her forearm. She had scratched herself. For what? "What were you doing, Kirin?"

At her silence, Heero shook his head and nodded to the medics. "Take her inside. When Sally Po arrives, tell her to take a look at Kirin. This is priority."

"Yes, sir." 

Heero moved away from the ambulance and turned to the others who were gazing at the repairs needed to be made on the Gundams. He moved towards the front of Archangel and looked up, the red lights in Archangel's eyes were fading and returning to the usual green. He cleared his throat to get the attention of the others. "We're starting production now. I'll repair the Gundams while the rest of you tend to your other duties."

"I'm going to salvage parts." Duo announced. He pointed into the sea. "Yume said there's some parts we could use out there."

"Then do it and hurry back." Heero turned to Trowa. "And you?"

"I'll help repair. Two is better than one."

"Fine." He looked at Shin and Yume. "One or both of you will have to go to the other production plants to ensure the mobile dolls are going on as scheduled. Quatre, get the rest of the plants in our name and ask Rasheed to man one of them. Wufei, you'll man the Preventers and the space port for the time being. Zero, your pirates will have to keep a low profile, but you'll go with Duo and salvage the parts. If there's anything you like, you can keep, except those beneficial to the repairs. You'll keep them as payments. Ayako-"

"Kirin has already given me a job. Before any of this happened." Ayako replied. "She's giving me a week to do it."

"All right." Heero slowly nodded his head. "A week. We work fast and efficiently, I'm not giving Lee another chance to attack us."

Mark stood beside himself, simmering with anger. Heero had purposely avoided him. He looked at Poa who didn't seem to mind. He turned just as Heero got into the jeep with the other pilots. "Hey, what do I do?"

Heero glared at him. "Help Poa. Get the Gundams on the transports and whatever she asks you to do, do it."

"What?" Mark looked at Poa who smiled. She certainly knew what she was doing. Heero had intentionally put her in charge instead of him. "This is bullshit."

"I don't care. I don't have time to give orders to everyone. When Poa gives an order, follow it, or else you'll deal with me."

Mark watched as the others began to branch off to do their own assigned jobs. He turned to Poa, trying not to sulk. "What do you want me to do?"

"Well, then, lad, put these Gundams on the truck." She turned to Morning Star before stopping and looking at him. "And don't sulk. That's an order."

Mark swore viciously as he moved towards Dragon Slayer. He wasn't going to even think about touching Archangel in fear of it self-detonating with him in it. Who knew what Kirin did to rig that Gundam?


End file.
